Sept. 22, 2001 – Services were set for Saturday, Sept. 22 for singer and actress Doris Galiber Roberts, 77, of St. Thomas who died Sept. 18 in New Jersey. A funeral mass was to be held at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph's of the Palisades Church, 6401 Palisades Avenue, West New York, N.J.
Doris Marie Galiber-Roberts was born on July 2, 1924 to Henry and Adele Galiber in St. Thomas, V.I. , one of eight children born to Henry and Adele.
She graduated in 1949 from Howard University with a Bachelors Degree in Music. She continued her music training in New York with Marinka Gurewich, Otto Herz and Lola Hayes.
In 1952 she joined the company of "Porgy and Bess,"which toured Europe under the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department.
Upon returning to the United States in 1954, she left "Porgy and Bess' to appear in a variety of Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including "Jamaica", "Thirteen Daughters", "Carmen Jones" and "Kiss Me Kate". Between 1955 and 1975 she appeared in eighteen annual productions at the Jones Beach Theater, including "Carousel", "South Pacific", "Around the World in 80 Days" and "Showboat."
She performed in numerous concerts in New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands and throughout the southern United States.
Her TV appearances included "Strolling Twenties" and "Lamp Unto My Feet".
In 1997, Virgin Islands Governor Roy L. Schneider presented her with an Excellence in the Arts Award in recognition of her exceptional contributions towards the advancement of the musical arts in the U.S. V. I.
She was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Actors Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the American Guild of Musical Artists.
Her sisters Marian, Gerda and Norma and her brother Andre, preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband of forty-seven years, Howard A. Roberts, a daughter, Kim, son and daughter-in-law Brian and Karen Roberts, her brothers Flavius, Rudolph and Leayle Galiber. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Edith Galiber, Yetta Galiber and Martha Galiber; nephews, Steve Roberts, Robert Bingham, Flavius A., Jr., Armstead, Edward, Rudolph, Jr., Leslie, Andre, Jr., Angelo, Dante, Marcel, Leayle, Jr. and John Galiber; nieces, Diana Roberts, Nanette Roberts, Paula Roberts-Hood, Yetta McCollum, Rochelle Galiber, Dale Hill, Lisa Forgeron and Cecile de Jongh; aunts, Evelyn L. Berry, Lucille Kean, Rosie Galiber-Harrigan and Christianita Galiber, Cousins: Clarice, Mario and, Sister Louis Marie Bryan.
Arrangements are by Leber Funeral Home.
