Obituary
Guest Book
1939
2015
Elisabeth "Libby" Ann Middleton passed away peacefully at her home on Christmas Eve, surrounded by her family.
Libby was born in Yorkshire, England, the third of five children of Jean and John Roberts. During her time in Yorkshire she was educated privately, but when her family moved to Checkendon, Oxfordshire after World War II she attended Lawnside School in Great Malvern, Worcestershire. She attended the Guildhall School of Music in London for a time, but left in 1960 to accompany her eldest sister and live on a plantation in Jamaica. While in Jamaica, she joined PanAmerican World Airways and ran their local office in Ocho Rios. She was transferred to London by PanAmerican, and there met a young civil engineer, Richard Middleton; they were married on June 5, 1966. A year later they moved to India, where Richard helped plan Bombay's water supply. The next five years included a return to England and another spell in Bombay, but in 1972 Richard was recruited by the World Bank and they moved to Washington D.C., their home for the next 30 years. For Richard this meant much international travel, for Libby much "keeping the home fires burning" (although she did accompany Richard on trips to Asia and Africa). It also meant that they were able to adopt their two Filipina daughters, Eliza and Sarah, which made the frequent separations worthwhile. During this time Libby worked for a number of years as a home health aide. In 2004 they retired to Salt Lake City, and enjoyed everything the city had to offer; for Libby, this meant in particular canyons full of wildflowers, wonderful scenery, the welcoming community of St. Mark's Cathedral, singing with the Jubilate choir - and a big old house full of cats. Her last year was a struggle to overcome the aftereffects of a fracture, a struggle she ultimately lost, but was made joyful by Sarah's October wedding to Heidi Nedreberg, her much-beloved daughter-in-law.
Libby is survived by her husband, Richard Middleton of Salt Lake City, her children Eliza (fiancé – Roger Schuman) Middleton of Baltimore, MD, and Sarah (Heidi) Middleton of Salt Lake City, her siblings Susan Adams of Grand Cayman, Wendy (Konrad) Schmidt of Neviges, Germany, David (Nicky) Roberts of Shalbourne, England, and Mary (Philip) Smith of Campden, England, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers-in-law, and a niece. A special thanks to Martha Castillo for her outstanding devotion to Libby's care over the latter half of this year, and to the staff of Bristol Hospice, and the nurses and doctors at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center for their attentive and devoted care of Libby.
Funeral Services will be held in Libby's honor on Saturday, January 9, at 2:30 PM at Evans and Early Mortuary, 574 East 100 South, in Salt Lake City. A burial service with Committal will be held at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Checkendon, Oxfordshire, England at a later date.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
1 Entry
January 7, 2016
Heidi Nedreberg
Sweet Libby - I was so blessed to know you and to have my life so vastly influenced by you. Your incredible daughter Sarah is so much of who she is because of you - and I have been lucky enough to find my life, love, and future with her. Thank you for that gift, and for so many wonderful times together. I will always look to flowers and sunsets and good food and drink and be reminded at how important these simple treasures of life are - and to appreciate them as you did: with squeals of joy and robust laughter! All my love.
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