Roberta Pryor, foster parent for dozens, dies

Known by some in her Amityville neighborhood as the "mother of the block," Roberta Pryor took in more than 50 foster children over her lifetime.

Pryor, who died Sunday at 103, touched dozens of lives as she built a family around children who needed her, baby-sat neighborhood kids and even helped raise the offspring of her foster kids.

"She would always be the one willing to take someone into her home," said Anthony Butler, 47, of Amityville, one of three foster kids who remained with Pryor until adulthood. "She just had a special way and patience that was phenomenal with kids."

Born in 1907, Pryor was a native of Augusta, Ga., who later moved to Albany where she met her husband James Pryor.

After marrying at the age of 14, Pryor spent time living in San Diego with her husband who was in the Navy. The two later moved to Jamaica, Queens, and then in 1949 bought a home in Amityville where they settled.

That year, Pryor also began attending Bethel A.M.E. Church in Copiague, where she remained active for more than 50 years. An avid churchgoer, Pryor participated in serving communion to parishioners and volunteered in the church's neighborhood missionary group.

Once in Amityville, Pryor, who had no children of her own, also began taking in foster children - at times hosting as many as six children at a time in her two-bedroom home, Butler said.

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Butler's older brothers, Joseph Joyner, 61, of Virginia Beach, Va., and David Joyner, 60, of Amityville, said they may have been the first children she took in. At the time, Joseph Joyner was about a year old and David Joyner about 6 months. All three brothers remained with Pryor until adulthood.

"She was really a Good Samaritan," said David Joyner, an Amityville teacher's aid. "She had a way of making you feel good when you were down."

Joyner also said Pryor emphasized to her foster children the importance of education and treating people well. He added that Pryor was also known for cooking large meals featuring Southern delicacies, such as homemade biscuits, fried chicken and collard greens.

She was a vibrant woman, her family said, who gardened and cut her grass until she was about 95. She would also often walk more than a mile to nearby stores.

Pryor remained active until she developed Alzheimer's disease six years ago, David Joyner said. She died Sunday of complications from the disease, he said.

"I tell people I am one of the most fortunate foster children," Joseph Joyner, a college professor, said. "She treated us as if we were her own children."

A wake for Pryor will be Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bethel A.M.E. Church. There will be a viewing service On Fridayat the church from 10 to 11 a.m., with a funeral service to follow at 11 a.m. Pryor will be buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Melville.

Besides her three foster sons, she is survived by eight grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Her husband died in 1973 at 66.