In the early hours of Saturday, November 29, 2025, Glenda Susan Cochran Robershaw, aged 85, peacefully passed away. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother, she left this world surrounded by love.
Glenda was born in Etowah County, Alabama, on April 23, 1940, the third of ten children born to Fred and Louise Cochran. She attended Walnut Grove schools and grew up with the high school just outside her family’s back door. She married her soulmate, Billy Ray Robershaw, on June 10, 1957. They moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she developed a passion for the Chicago Cubs. Her life took her to various places, including Walnut Grove, Alabama; Huntsville, Alabama; Tarpon Springs, Florida; Flint, Michigan; and ultimately Decatur, Alabama, where she resided from 1980 until her passing.
Together, Billy and Glenda had four children, eleven grandchildren, twenty-one great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. She deeply loved her sons-in-law and cherished her many friendships, touching many lives with her spirit, wisdom, and resilience. She was also a successful business owner.
Glenda shared a close bond with her siblings, celebrating moments together whenever possible. From playing Rook and spoons at the kitchen table with her children, sisters, nieces, and nephews, to sharing coffee with her brothers and laughing at the antics of family playing in the Gulf of Mexico waves, she treasured family moments—her favorite times outside the embrace of her beloved husband.
She was preceded in death by her son, Bill Robershaw; her parents, Fred and Louise Cochran; her brothers Fred, Rodney, Billy, and James Cochran; and her sisters Annette Cornelius and Julia Watts. She leaves behind her loving husband, Billy Ray Robershaw; devoted daughters Phyllis Sloan (husband Guy, children Adam Lamson, Sarah Posey, Josh Sloan, Rachel Hargett, and Katelynn Bolton) of Somerville, Alabama; Sherie Diane Tody (husband Mark, children Arah MacNaughton and Tarra Cathcart) of Greenbrier, Tennessee; and Dawn Kolbet (husband Arthur, children Nicholas Kolbet, Deianira Wright, Kendra Kolbet, and Elora Kolbet) of Charleston, South Carolina. She also leaves behind adored great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, sister-in-law Ann Robershaw Salers, sisters Sharon Burden, Kathy Cochran, and Martha Foxx, along with a large extended family.
A celebration of Glenda’s life will be held on December 13, 2025, at Forest Hill Baptist Church in Somerville, Alabama, from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M.
