Maxine Bradford Roberts

Maxine Bradford Roberts, age 94 of Franklin, TN passed away September 5, 2024. Born in Bellevue, TN on October 24, 1929 to Edward Campbell and Daisy Bowers Bradford, the youngest of twelve children. She graduated from Bellevue High School where she was captain of the cheerleaders. 

After graduating, Maxine went to work in banking in downtown Nashville. It wasn’t long before she met her future husband, George Paschal (Pack) Roberts, Jr. One day, as Pack was meeting with a customer at Third National Bank, Maxine walked in. Having never met her, Pack boldly stated to the customer, “I’m going to marry her someday.”

They were married at Franklin Methodist Church in Franklin, KY, with Rev. H.C. Ogles officiating. Their best friends served as witnesses. Pack and Maxine were married 57 years before his passing in 2004. After several years of marriage, they started a family. Connie Roberts Thurman (James Martin), George Edward Roberts (Eddie), Beverly Roberts Stone and Jennifer Roberts York (Scott)

They were members of First United Methodist Church, where she kept the nursery when her children were small. She was also a member of the Jaycettes.

Throughout life, her four children were always her first priority. She was a stay-at-home Mom and drove carpool over many, many years for all of her children’s activities. Donny Jackson recalled her piling the neighborhood kids in her car and taking them to Willow Plunge often.

While raising her children on Meadowlawn Drive in Franklin, she worked summers part-time in the Grill at Willow Plunge—the coolest swimming pool venue ever. Her children loved getting hamburgers and frozen zero candy bars occasionally. They thought it was cool to walk from home, cross the railroad tracks, and traipse through a field to get to Willow Plunge.

When her 4 kids were grown, Maxine became the manager of The Hadassah Thrift Shop in Nashville and worked there for many years. Later she worked as receptionist and nursery worker at the Williamson Co. Parks and Recreation Center, where her youngest Jennifer worked for 33 years. Maxine also kept the nursery at Grace Church for a significant number of years.

Some of her fondest memories were of beach trips to the Panhandle in Florida and Captiva Island. Although she never learned to swim, it didn’t keep her from enjoying being on the boat at Center Hill Lake or playing with the Grandkids in the pool. 

On Mother’s Day, the girls gave her a trip to Jackson, TN for the Miss TN Pageant. It was a 3-day weekend extravaganza in June and was enjoyed by all. When the three granddaughters were old enough, they joined the party. 

Another family tradition that lasted for years and continues to this day, is bowling on Thanksgiving afternoon. For many years, Maxine was the top bowler. Today, even the great grands participate. 

She was Granny to seven grandchildren, Josh (Sarah) Thurman, Whitney Thurman (Nick) Pilkington, Natalie Stone (Jesse) Newsom, Eli (Anna Kate) Stone, Rachel Roberts (J.J.) Ailor, Tucker (Kate) York and Ben York (Alexis Hill). Great Granny to 12 great grandchildren—Jack, Jude, Jenna Kate, Chance, Winnie, Harry, Neely, Edmund, Beatrice, Jillian Hazel, Louise and Isaiah. 

In 2014, Maxine relocated to Morningside, an assisted living facility, that later became known as Charter. She wasn’t thrilled about moving to Morningside and said, “There’s nobody here but old people. I’m not going down for meals and I don’t play Bingo.” Ultimately, Bingo soon became a favorite, along with Bible Study and cardio drumming. She was a favorite among the staff because she was always so loving and kind. An extra blessing in the move to Morningside was that her dear lifelong friend Sara Isaacs resided directly across the hall from her. They enjoyed a lot of fun times and good memories together there. 

At Charter, she rode the Morningside bus for services at First Methodist. When the bus became too difficult to manage, she attended the Sunday afternoon church service at Charter. We were always amazed at her ability to remember the words to any number of hymns and favorite songs. She loved singing whenever she had the chance. Recently Connie suggested one of her favorite hymns might be Blessed Assurance and she immediately broke out in song and knew every single word. 

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Charter for tirelessly caring for our mom since 2014. She resided there until her passing. Tennessee Quality Care began providing additional care in late 2023 and was a huge blessing to the family at the end of her life. 

A Celebration of Life will be held 1:00PM Friday, September 13, 2024 with visitation two hours prior to the service at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home. Jim Taylor will officiate. In lieu of flowers, please give to The Navy Seal Foundation or a charity of your choice. WILLIAMSON MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES, 615-794-2289. www.williamsonmemorial.com