Roberta Faye (Levinson) Galex

To family and friends Roberta Galex was simply "Bobbie."

"Mom never met a stranger and it was usually discovered early on after meeting someone, we were related," her daughter Harriet recalled.

An engaging and energetic woman, Bobbie put aside youthful dreams of being an operatic singer when she became a wife and mother, while also staying active as an artist and serving her community.

Born Roberta Faye Levinson, on April 5, 1938, in Memphis, Tennessee, she died Dec. 17, 2022, in Dripping Springs, Texas. Burial will be at the Hebrew Cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois at 10AM on Wednesday, December 28th, 2022.

Bobbie was the eldest child of Harry and Naoma Levinson. The family moved to Newburgh, New York, and, when Bobbie was 13, to Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, where she grew up with her younger brother, Marvin.

Bobbie graduated in 1956 from Miami Beach High School. During her senior year in high school she met Martin Galex, from Rock Island, Illinois, who was attending an AEPi convention in south Florida with fraternity brothers from the University of Iowa.

Bobbie enrolled at the University of Iowa, attending for a year before she and Marty married on June 30, 1957. The Florida girl now lived on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. Marty worked at Rock Island Bedding, a mattress manufacturing business founded by his parents and an uncle.

Marty's and Bobbie's first child, Audrey, was born in 1959. Another daughter, Harriet, was born in 1960. An infant son, Stuart, died in 1961. After moving from Moline to neighboring Rock Island, Debbie was born in 1962. A brother, Michael, became part of the family in 1969.

"She recognized each of us as individuals and facilitated our passions. Each of us were treated as if we were gold," Harriet said.

The house in Rock Island was filled with music and art. Audrey said that her mother "was known to crank up the tunes when doing dishes and dance around the kitchen with her children." The Galex home was a gathering place for friends, both of the parents and the children. Treasured memories include the multi-family Sunday night dinners combining foods from various area restaurants. Her children also credit their mother with invention of a dish that they knew as "turkey pizza."

Years later, Bobbie told The (Moline) Dispatch newspaper that marrying at age 19 "didn't leave much time for a career." Nonetheless, she found time to volunteer for numerous community organizations, including the Rock Island County Heart Fund, the Visiting Nurses Association of Rock Island, B'Nai Brith Women, Hadassah, the Beth Israel Sisterhood of the Tri-City Jewish Center, the Quad-City Arts Council, and the Mardi Gras charity ball. She also wrote feature articles for The Dispatch.

Bobbie maintained a life-long love of the arts, performing in community musical theater and painting throughout her life.

Marty, who became president of the family-owned business, also was elected to the Rock Island City Council and served for several months as interim mayor of the city. When Marty retired in 1990, he and Bobbie moved to Boca Raton, Fla., closer to her mother and brother.

Marty and Bobbie were happiest when their home was filled friends and family, particularly their grandchildren, who looked on the country club house in Boca as their personal resort. A portion of the garage served as Bobbie's art studio, where she shared her love of painting with the grandchildren.

After surviving a life-threatening illness in 1996, Bobbie became active in Women in the Visual Arts (WITVA), serving for a time as co-president. She founded a program called HOSPITALART, which provided hundreds of pieces for display at Boca Raton area hospitals, clinics, and related facilities. "I felt like I was in solitary. I had nothing to see," she told the Palm Beach Post about her illness. "It is so frightening to have just a white wall. There was nothing to take your mind off your troubles."

The Sun-Sentinel newspaper wrote in 2004: "People are suffering, it only adds to their pain to be surrounded by empty walls, Galex said. "'If you don't have any art in your life, it's empty.'"

In addition to numerous pieces donated to Boca Community Hospital, where she was treated, Bobbie displayed her work in contests at the Cunningham Arts Gallery, in Delray Beach, Florida, and more than a dozen of her paintings were displayed at the County Court Division Office of the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office.

Evidence of Bobbie's prolific artistry adorns the walls of her children's homes.

Marty and Bobbie moved several years ago to Dripping Springs, Texas, near where Harriet lives. Marty, who passed away in August 2021, is buried at the Hebrew Cemetery in Rock Island, as is Stuart.

Bobbie is survived by her brother Marvin (Susan), and children Audrey (Dave Schechter), Harriet (Steve Greenlee), Debbie (Jerry Hack), and Michael (Teresa Enriquez).

One of Bobbie's paintings features a row of 11 ducks. She is survived by 11 grandchildren: Maayan Schechter, Eyal Schechter, Ronen Schechter, Hanna Greenlee, Will Greenlee, Jordyn Hack, Lexi Hack, Mia Galex, Vanya Galex, Camille Galex, Naomi Galex.

The family asks that donations be made to support Alzheimer's research and WITVA.

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