Roberta Alexander, an East Bay writer and editor who transformed herself through the times, died May 1 in Van Nuys after a long illness. She was 76.
Alexander projected an image of no-nonsense toughness and reason, a persona that served her well in her work in newsrooms, where a hard-boiled world view was often worn as a badge of courage. But while she was tough, the facade hid other aspects of Alexander’s life — she quilted, took piano lessons and wrote endlessly, from children’s literature to mysteries.
In addition to her writing, Alexander was a copy and layout editor at East Bay newspapers including the Contra Costa Times. After retiring in 2007, Alexander continued to write. While her post-retirement freelance work spanned business coverage to culture stories, she also wrote reviews of mystery novels for the East Bay Times and The Mercury News.
Alexander was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., which was always present in her voice. She and her husband, Barry Roth, who had been high school sweethearts, got their bachelor’s degrees in English from Brooklyn College in 1964 and moved west to Palo Alto. While there, the couple had their first daughter, Alexis.
The new family moved to Ohio in 1968, where Barry took a teaching position at Ohio University. They had their second daughter Miranda in Ohio and Alexander entered the journalism master’s program at Ohio University, which included an internship at Ms. Magazine, a new publication that led the charge for feminism at a time when the idea seemed radical to many in mainstream America.
After the couple broke up, Alexander moved out in 1975, the year she completed her master’s degree. She settled in a rambling home owned by her brother and his wife in Berkeley, where as a single mother of two small daughters she lived what was considered a counterculture lifestyle.
The household where she lived was also home to several other renters. “Things were a lot more fluid and less structured,” said her daughter, Alexis Roth, who attended Walden School in Berkeley during that period. “It was Berkeley in the 1970s, so it was very different.”
Alexander found work at the East Bay Review, the first of a series of newspapers she worked for in the East Bay over the next 40-plus years. “She was always writing,” Alexis said.
She also practiced Tai chi and taught it to others.
In addition to her daughters, Alexander is survived by two grandchildren. Services have not been finalized. Her family suggested donations to Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay in Alexander’s memory.
Patrick Twohy was formerly business editor for the Contra Costa Times.