Roberta Santee to be Recognized as Green City Parade Marshal
The Green City Chamber of Commerce is excited to recognize Roberta Santee as the Grand Marshal of the 2026 July 4 Celebration. Known to most simply as “Bert”, Roberta has retired from multiple jobs but she just keeps showing up for her family, her friends and her community.
Bert grew up on the Thompson family farm northeast of Pennville, but the family moved to Kirksville once her older sister Margie was ready to start school. Growing up in the city, her heart was never far from the farm, and she spent many happy childhood hours sitting on the porch with neighbors, visiting with her grandparents, and helping her dad with projects. Most memorably, she talks of watching the stars from atop the bean pile in the bed of her dad’s International pickup as they hauled the harvest to the Kirksville grain elevator on their way home.
Bert graduated Kirksville High School in 1972 and attended one year of college at Truman but ultimately decided to get to work. While representing McGraw’s on the Slow Pitch team, she met a player from the Dempsey team and despite several job changes, moves, and distance between them, she married Kenny Santee on May 16, 1981 in Grant City, IA.
Work took them across the country through Iowa, to Cheyenne Wyoming and eventually back to Green City to be closer to the kids, Michelle and Michael. Together they owned The Snack Bar on the north side of the Green City Square serving food, coffee, snacks, and pool tables in back for the kids to spend their evenings. Imogene Fisher and Dot Turner were regulars for morning coffee and took the new girl in town under their wing.
When the couple moved to their current home on Pfeiffer Street, Kenny thought it was too small for their family but Bert was undeterred. She read books on construction, called friends, hired kids from the school labor auction and steadfastly built an addition to their house. She dug out and put in a new foundation, learned carpentry, plus renovated the existing space with all new electrical and plumbing.
Kenny spent his entire career as a meatcutter, one of the best in the business, and retired from Wal-Mart in 2006. Roberta started working at Kirksville Savings and Loan in 1986 and never left the building, working for 7 different banks, eventually retiring (for the first time) from US Bank in 2010 as their branch manager. Her goal in retiring early was to care for her mother but it also gave her some spare time to spend at the farm that she loved so much. Before long, she managed to completely rebuild the old farmhouse, which required some buzzard eviction, and finally got running water and electricity to the little house where the family still spends happy days.
Bert worked briefly at Murphy- Brown in the barns and was eventually recruited to work at City Hall as a temp support for the City Clerk. She has continued to be an unwavering support to City staff, and a constant helper for our community, stepping in to literally keep the meters running and the garbage picked up when it was needed most.
Her main motivation is the drive to ensure her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids benefit from the kind of community she and Kenny loved in Green City. Family photos line the surfaces of her home and its walls. She’s a regular at ballgames, school programs, recitals and all the things that the next generation is involved in. She’s incredibly proud of the families her grandson’s are raising. Michelle’s son, and Michael’s two boys each have beautiful families, and Jordan’s kids mark the 5th generation of Green City Gophers.
Bert’s joy and love for her community seems tireless. The conversation for this article continuously drifted to ideas she has for the community including economic development ideas, beautification projects, youth activities, and housing growth. She has big plans for our little town and despite “retiring” from her most recent role at City Hall, she’s certain to continue working for the community in one capacity or another. Serving as treasurer of both the North Central Missouri Water Commission and the Senior Tax Board keep her busy as well. Her big ideas have already turned into things like the memorial benches and flowerpots around the square, and the creation of the annual Christmas parade that so many have come to enjoy.
“You have to help if you can. You can’t just sit back and hope someone else will do it,” she said about community projects, and likely her home improvement work too. Bert has plans for a new porch, a screened in deck at the farm, and a few other ‘small’ things that she wants to do around the house. Of course, that will have to be in her spare time, when she’s not volunteering to do something else in Green City.
As the 2026 Green City Parade Marshal, Roberta Santee will lead the parade on the 4th of July at 11:30am, and everyone is invited to celebrate with her. A full schedule of events for the weekend can be found on Facebook and in the Green City Press. Free activities will be held throughout the day with fireworks closing out the celebration at dark. The Green City Chamber of Commerce looks forward to welcoming everyone to the celebration.
