Cleta Maye Haga Roberts, 86, of Rural Retreat, VA, passed peacefully in the snowy early hours of Friday, December 5, 2025. She was born May 21,1939, in Grayson County, VA, the daughter of E. Kermit and Mabel Vaught Haga. She was a proud graduate of Oak Hill Academy and Berea College.

Loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Cleta was an involved resident of the Rural Retreat community for over sixty years. She and her husband Scott owned and operated farms in Wythe and Grayson Counties. She loved all animals, caring for stray cats and dogs, orphaned raccoons, nurturing many a lamb and calf, befriending and bonding and never eating any lamb or beef she raised. (Hogs were an exception, because there is nothing like real country ham.)

Cleta also loved the grandeur of nature, especially flowers, and shared her love as a floral designer at Rural Retreat Florist and helped bring nature's beauty to life's own seasons, from football mums, prom corsages, Valentine roses, wedding bouquets, and bereavement wreaths. Her passion for flowers continued as long as she was able as she gathered and arranged whatever she found beautiful. She also had a delightful sense of humor and was a practical jokester, known to make pink plastic flamingos appear on people's lawns long before "flocking" became a thing.

Cleta leaves an extraordinary legacy of service and leadership to her family, church, and community. Never fully enjoying a hot meal since she was too busy making sure fresh rolls were always available for everyone else, that same dedication and zest led to a multitude of other roles and callings: Cub Scout Den Mother; many years of membership and leadership in the Rural Retreat Garden Club, the Rural Retreat Literary Club, and the Virginia Farm Bureau Women's Committee; serving on the Wythe County Board of Equalization and on the local advisory boards of several banks, the Farmers Home Administration, and the Mount Rogers Mental Health Services. Cleta also would readily volunteer to spearhead many community funding drives for various charities such as the American Cancer Society. She is probably best known for her instrumental service as the local liaison for the Red Cross Bloodmobile, a role she thoroughly enjoyed for nearly four decades.

Cleta was a long-time active member of Grace Lutheran Church in Rural Retreat, serving as Pastoral Search Committee chair, a member of Church Council, doing altar flowers, and enjoying being a part of Morning Glories. She also was the former chair of the Wytheville Christian Women's Club.

Cleta's most passionate advocacy was her commitment and dedication to education – both for her family and the wider community. She was appointed and served eight years on the Wytheville Community College (WCC) Board. While serving on the Board, she was an active leader and member of various committees and was known for her exemplary enthusiasm and attendance. Greatly respected and esteemed, she was elected by her Board peers and served as a member of the three-member Executive Committee. Cleta also served for four years as the at-large member on the Wythe County School Board and volunteered to serve as chairperson on a highly successful Annual Fund Campaign for the WCC Educational Foundation.

Cleta helped lead a successful effort to establish the Rural Retreat Public Library.  She was instrumental in establishing the Friends of the Rural Retreat Public Library group, helped locate and negotiate for the physical facility, and played a major role in raising the funds needed to establish the library.

In 1994, Cleta was honored to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the WCC Educational Foundation, an award reserved for community leaders who render exceptional service to Wytheville Community College. She was also honored in 2005 by the Wilderness Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution with the National DAR Community Service Award and received recognition from the Virginia State DAR Committee in 2006. The Town of Rural Retreat recognized Cleta for her many years of devotion, dedication, and service to the community in naming her the 2007 Citizen of the Year.

Cleta is survived by her husband of sixty-six years, Scott Jennings Roberts; sons Dennis S. Roberts and his wife Maria of Lynchburg, VA, and James W. (Jim) Roberts and his wife Rebecca of Roanoke, VA; her brother Harold Dean Haga of Daleville, VA; her six grandchildren: Jessica, Andrew, Gretchen, Sena, John Scott, and Rachel; three great-grandchildren: Emmaline, Deacon, and Winnie; and many beloved cousins, nieces, and nephew.

Very special thanks are given to treasured neighbors and friends, Jed and Lyndsey Witt and family, whose loving care, daily help, and check-ins are invaluable to the family. The family also extends special thanks to Sue and the entire team at Caris Healthcare Hospice and the staff at Mountain Laurel Rehabilitation and Nursing.

A memorial service will be held Thursday, December 11, at 2:00 p.m., at Grace Lutheran Church in Rural Retreat, with Br. Jason Darty, OLF, and Pastor Jonathan Hamman officiating. The family will greet friends at a church reception following the service. A private interment will be at Mountain View Cemetery in Rural Retreat at another time. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Grace Lutheran Church (514 S. Main St, Rural Retreat, VA  24368) or the Friends of the Rural Retreat Library (P.O. Box 103, Rural Retreat, VA 24368).

Lindsey Funeral Home, Rural Retreat, VA is serving the Roberts family.  Online condolences may be sent to the family at:  www.highlandfuneralservice.com