Roberta A. West

Roberta "Bobbie" A. West, (1945-2018) of San Cristobal passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 13th after a battle with ovarian cancer. Before coming to New Mexico, Bobbie was a labor and delivery nurse for 40 years in Washington, DC. Outside of work Bobbie sculpted and painted southwestern animals and the Sangre de Cristo mountains. A graduate of the Corcoran School of Art, she worked in acrylics, stone, wood and steel. She built a small studio outside her home in San Cristobal where she created huge welded steel horses. Her sculptures and more can be found in many private collections, as well as towering over shopping malls and other businesses. Bobbie’s art reflected her love for animals. Back east, she rescued everything from injured turtles to snakes and skunks. But she adored huskies the most, and was most happy when she brought her menagerie to New Mexico. She also saved human lives in Washington D.C. where she lived on A street and first, SE, in the 90s when the drug war was at its military zenith. Bobbie helped kids who had been shot on the street to hold on, or babies that had stopped breathing, while the ambulance delayed getting to the scene. As a labor and delivery nurse she brought thousands of children into the world, at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and later at Holy Cross Hospital in Taos. Later in life she worked as a traveling nurse helping poor patients across New Mexico. Her experience nursing the poor shaped her belief that healthcare must be a right for all. Bobbie also loved tennis and golf; in the 1980s she was nationally ranked in the USTA. In Taos she often took out her frustrations about the health care system on the driving range at the Taos Country Club. Despite her advanced cancer, Bobbie worked on her golf swing whenever possible. Bobbie is survived by her daughter, Caroline Yezer, her brother Timothy West, and sister-in law, Valerie West, and more family and friends. Her other surviving non-human family include Sophie the cat, and her huskies, Skye and Sitka. She was loved and will be mightily missed by all. In lieu of cards or flowers please consider supporting the Siberian Husky Rescue of New Mexico, or the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. Arrangements by Rivera Family Funeral Home, Taos. To share a memory, please visit our website at www.riverafuneralhome.com