Shawnéa Louann Roberts

Shawnéa Louann Martindale was born at home in Houston, Texas on November 6, 1977. She lived in Lubbock and Austin, Texas, attending St. Elmo Elementary School before her family moved to Fairfax, Virginia in 1987.

In 1989 the family moved to Columbia, Maryland where she attended Owen Brown Middle and Oakland Mills High School. This was where Shawnéa’s singing career began. She performed with her family at Valley Brook Community Church and was involved with the Breakaway Youth Ministry at Chapelgate Presbyterian Church.

In 1994, Shawnéa and her family moved to Reston, Virginia where she attended South Lakes High School. She immediately joined the main Choir and the Jazz Choir. If there was a harmony to figure out, whether alto or soprano, she would find it. Whether it was at Harvest Trading Company (her first job), Managing at First Virginia Bank, or Managing the hostess staff at Sweetwater Tavern Restaurant, Shawnéa thrived in any work environment.

She loved spending summers in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the GCM Leadership Training program and teaching people how to swing dance on the beach. She moved to Blacksburg, Virginia in the spring of 1998 and fell in love with Virginia Tech. There she was part of the worship team at NLCF Church. She worked at the Roanoke Times Newspaper and Recognition Research, Inc. She married Christopher Roberts on May 19, 2001, and later divorced in 2021.

Her family moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia in 2004 where they had their daughter Hannah Elizabeth Roberts. Shawnéa was irreplaceable as the Director of Operations at Crosscurrent Church in Virginia Beach and sang week after week on the worship team. She loved singing with her band, My Fellow Sophisticates, and flourished at all the church events throughout the years.

In 2010 Shawnéa started her own Medical Billing Business supporting numerous counselors, assisting and launching their practices in both Virginia and Colorado. Shawnéa lived in Virginia Beach for 18 years.

She loved traveling throughout Europe and discovering all the new foods she could cook at home. Her favorite place was Italy and she dreamed of going to Greece one day. She was relentless in researching family history. Shawnéa loved celebrations and holidays with her family and always went above and beyond when welcoming people into her home. She was the first to give you the shirt off her back. Gifted with organization, many were touched by her empathy and love. Her sisters were by her side holding her hands and singing her hymns as she passed.

Shawnéa Roberts is survived by her daughter Hannah Roberts; her parents Stephen Martindale, Sheila and Richard Burkard; her grandmother Mardean Martindale; her grandfather Bruce Burkard; her three sisters Samara Sandifer, Sharalee Roberts, and Shanna Saadeh, and their families - Brian, Rachel, Roman, Ryleigh, Reston, Rebekah, Kiley, Haley, Justin, Lily, Jason, and Analia; and her in-laws - Shannon, Bryan, Noah, Jen, Beno, Zach, Allie, Kim, Peter, Ellie, Ben, and Elliot Ruchowitz.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.