People were drawn to Roberta Fields because she naturally welcomed their presence.
This was evident in her expressions of kind regard when she greeted folks. But Mrs. Fields, who died Wednesday at the age of 92 at Allegiance Specialty Hospital in Greenville, is not being celebrated for her graciousness alone. She also spent decades devoting herself to uplifting others.
“She was strong, well-versed and dependable,” said Paulette Palmer, a friend. Mrs. Fields also was “the best friend and neighbor you could have!” Palmer said.
The Palmer and Fields families have lived close to another in Greenwood’s Bowie Lane neighborhood for decades, and their children grew up playing outside in the yards while their mothers and others with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority met indoors to plan and implement sorority projects — such as programs for youth designed to equip them for their future and, for many years, the Ebony Fashion Fair.
The traveling show, a fundraiser, visited Greenwood each year for more than 30 years until it was discontinued nationwide in 2010. The show annually packed the Leflore County Civic Center with an audience of friends and families who considered the Fashion Fair to be a don’t-miss occasion. Mrs. Fields frequently handled its publicity.
Palmer’s son, Carlos, a Greenwood attorney who characterized Mrs. Fields as “a very sweet and endearing woman” and a talented pianist, said his mother used to “drag” him and his brother to the Civic Center for the Fashion Fair when they were boys. He’s glad, of course, that she did. Later, Mrs. Fields played the piano for national achievement banquets that his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, had at Mississippi Valley State University.
Mrs. Fields was the minister of music at Wesley United Methodist Church on Howard Street for more than 50 years.
She served seven years on the Greenwood-Leflore Public Library’s board of trustees, starting in 2001, and she was well known as a third-grade teacher at both Stone Street Elementary School and Davis Elementary School.
Mrs. Fields, who grew up in Yazoo City, taught in Greenwood from 1955 until 1985. She and her husband, George F. Fields, who served on the Leflore County Board of Supervisors and is now deceased, were married for 50 years, beginning in 1951. They met at Tuskegee University, where she received a bachelor’s degree. Later, she earned a master’s in education from Mississippi State University, where she was the first Black woman inducted into MSU’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.
She was a Golden Lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta and a founding member in 1955 of the Cotillion Federated Club. In December, the club honored her during its 65th anniversary activities with a gathering at her home.
The club, which has its roots in the suffragette movement that began in the 19th century, emphasizes programs that make life better for women and children, and Mrs. Fields was among those who were instrumental in carrying out its annual debutante balls and pageants.
Marlene Johnson of Greenwood, a retired educator, is among Mrs. Fields’ many admirers — as is her son, John Carey Johnson, 50, of Newport News, Virginia. She described him as “one of those kids who always talks about her and she about him.”
He has been drawn to visit with Mrs. Fields whenever he is Greenwood, his mother said.
“She was a very good teacher,” said Doris Banks, 90, of Greenwood, a former principal at Davis. “She was a thorough teacher, very thorough teacher.” The students and their parents loved her, Banks said: “She got everything down pat and taught it to the students, not only through books but through life. She taught life skills.”
Banks and Mrs. Fields were initiated into Delta Sigma Theta at the same time. They became fast friends. “She was really outgoing, and she didn’t hold back. She was there every day trying to do her best in the world, and she was very kind. Roberta was just beautiful.”
Survivors include two daughters, Kathryn Fields Minchew of Greenwood and Venita Fields Hampton of Evanston, Illinois, and three grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at Wesley United Methodist Church. Visitation will be from 5 until 7 p.m. Friday at Century Funeral Home.
- Contact Susan Montgomery at 581-7241 or smontgomery@gwcommonwealth.com.
