Beloved City Employee, Mother and Wife Passes Away After Stroke

You don't even have to know Roberta Dikeman to know that this was a woman who did things with all her heart.

Just glance at her Facebook page to witness her full on love for her children (a post of a first tooth lost!), her commitment to fitness and a bright sense of humor (enjoying the smells of a yummy dinner a neighbor was cooking one recent night).

On Feb. 7 the Dublin mom of two posted that the Dublin City Council was going to recognize her for outstanding achievement for earning two certified indoor rowing world records in a Peninsula event: most meters in 24 hours (226,136 meters) and longest continual row in a division for lightweight women 40-49.

She never made it to the celebration. Dikeman, 45, suffered a stroke that day and died a week later.

To say the wife and mother of two, a computer specialist for the city of Dublin, was a giving person is an understatement.

"Yesterday, the day she died, was her husband's birthday," said childhood friend Jennifer Berry.

Dikeman had pre-ordered a Mardi Gras cake (she and her husband Glenn met in college in New Orleans), a King's cake, and the family received it after arriving home from the hospital.

"It was a beautiful gift from her, even after her death," said Berry.

Dikeman's generosity, even after her passing, didn't end there. As an organ donor, seven vital organs, including her corneas, were donated. 

Berry met Dikeman as a teen in Atlanta, GA, and the two have remained friends ever since.

"She was just really cheerful," said Berry. "She had a really great sarcastic sense of humor."

In recent years, Dikeman decided to become an athlete and took up competitive indoor rowing. She also joined Weight Watchers and lost roughly 90 pounds in about a year.

"She was an intense athlete," said Berry, adding that her friend would get up early before her kids so that she could row.

That determination proved successful, and Dikeman soon found herself a medal winner, proudly posting those photos on her Facebook page, of course, grinning widely.

Despite undergoing surgery at Eden Hospital in Castro Valley, Dikeman was in a coma.

"It was just such a massive stroke that her brain couldn't overcome the damage," said Berry. She died Wednesday.

Berry said her friend was an incredibly devoted mother to son Henry, 8, and daughter, Etta, 5.

"She was really patient with them... Always seeking the best for them."

When Glenn got the call that Roberta had a stroke, he was in a meeting being laid off from his job. The couple has lived in Dublin for more than 10 years and had been married almost 21 years.

After his wife's passing, Glenn posted on the CaringBridge website set up for her after her stroke.

"I want to thank every one so much for their support over the last week. It has been greatly appreciated," he wrote.

Her death is a loss to the city of Dublin, as well. As a city employee, Dikeman worked with the city's computer systems.

"She was brilliant... a very strong intellect... self-taught about computers," added Berry. "She is so loved by the city."

"Roberta was wonderful in so many ways. I will always remember her as the ideal co-worker: smart, wise, compassionate, loyal, humorous, and above all else - a friend," wrote one fellow employee in the guestbook.

Other words of sympathy came from people who had never even met Roberta but became friends with her through her online rowing community.

Roberta will be recognized Tuesday evening by the Dublin City Council for her rowing achievements. It's the honor she would have been given the day she had her stroke. Her husband will accept the award on her behalf.

Funeral services for Roberta (Birdie) Dikeman have been set in accordance to her Jewish faith. The funeral service will begin 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 17th, at Congregation Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada St., Pleasanton. She will be interred following the service at Roselawn Cemetery, 1204 N. Livermore Ave., Livermore.

The family will sit shiva at their home for three days, from Friday after the burial until Sunday noon. In keeping with religious custom, the family respectfully requests no flowers be sent.

Berry noted that the family has a network of families who are helping with meals and childcare. But if you'd like to help, a fund has been established for the family.

For Roberta
c/o Bank of the West
7533 Dublin Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568
Account Number 0264-32252

or

Paypal email: ForRobertaDikeman@gmail.com