Obituary of Roberta Ann Burns-Riggio

Roberta Ann Margaret Burns-Riggio, 82, of Toms River, went to be with her Lord on November 8, 2021. She was born in Hackensack, NJ on April 20, 1939. She is survived by her husband, Anthony Joseph Riggio of Toms River, NJ; her brother John & wife Laura Gae Burns of The Villages, FL; her sister Darlene & husband Don Van Houten of Jackson, NJ; her daughter Robbin & husband Kerry Sneddon of Forked River, NJ; daughters Ellen Tyler & Laura Jeffrey.of Vernon,VT; grandchildren Ashley Tyler of Toms River, NJ; Taryn Tyler of Lubbock, TX; Elizabeth Morse of Brattleboro, VT; Ethan Jeffrey of Soddy-Daisy, TN; & Johnny Manch of Vernon, VT. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren Makai, Alexa, & Anthony of Toms River, NJ; her niece and God-daughter Dawn Dakouvanos of NJ; nephew Scott Burns & wife Karla Idunate of NJ; nephew Craig & wife Judi Burns of North Carolina; nephew Jeffrey Burns of California; & several great-nieces and great-nephews. She was predeceased by her daughter, Jill Morse in 2019. Roberta grew up in Keansburg, NJ. She graduated from Leonardo High School in Middletown, NJ in 1957. In 1992, she graduated from Community College of Vermont in Winooski, VT with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts. After her high-school graduation in 1957, she worked as a secretary at the Prudential Insurance Company in Newark, NJ until 1959. She worked as a secretary at Fort Monmouth in Eatontown, NJ until 1965. She ran a successful childcare business in her home from 1974-1978. She worked as an Executive Secretary at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation in Vernon, VT from 1978-1995. From 1995-1998 she worked at CPC Behavioral Healthcare in Freehold, NJ as an Administrative Assistant. Roberta was an active member of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Keyport, NJ. She will be remembered as a kind, selfless, giving, and loving person who was unconditionally devoted to her family. She enjoyed giving back to her community and did volunteer work as a Sunday school teacher, a Girl Scout leader, a room mother for many of her children’s schools, and was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Private cremation has been performed. There will be a celebration of her life at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 60 Maple Place, Keyport, NJ 07735, on April 23, 2022 at 11 a.m. It was her wish that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gethsemane Lutheran Church or the Associated Humane Societies Popcorn Park Animal Shelter at 1 Humane Way, PO Box 43, Forked River, NJ 08731.