- Date Of Birth: March 14, 1925
- Date Of Death: December 10, 2017
- State: New Mexico
Alerta was born in East Anglia, England. She survived the Blitz during World War II making parts for radios outside of London. She married Robert Grant Keyes on September 3, 1945 in a Church of England, ceremony at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. They met during the war while he was stationed with the 8th Air Force, attached to the 100th Bomb Group in Thorpe Abbotts, England. Alerta came through Staten Island in New York after much red tape and arrived in Roswell in August of 1946. She became a U.S. citizen shortly thereafter and helped her husband build their home in Roswell and their summer home in Ruidoso.
Alerta loved her family, friends and kind neighbors and enjoyed her hobbies of gardening, sewing, writing poetry and watching animals. She and her husband traveled to all fifty states, as well as Canada, Mexico and Europe. She was a lifetime member of the 100th Bomb Group (8th Air Force).
Alerta was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Robert; a brother and three sisters. She is survived by her daughters, Marsha Keyes and Giselle Keyes; a sister-in-law, Jodie Keyes; nephews, Conrad Keyes, Richard K. Davidson, Robert K. Meyer, Frank Hayward, Peter Riches; and nieces, Patricia Hayward and Diane Secker. She is also survived by her cousins in Canada, Marguerite, Betty and Jane and dear friends; Hulda, Jan, Rose, Pat, Connie, Julie and Larry, Adelaide, Carol, Ron, Evelyn, Gail, Harvey, Mickie and Wade.
When Tomorrow Starts Without Me
When tomorrow starts without me,
if the sun should rise and find your eyes
all filled with tears for me,
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry,
the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things,
we didn’t get to say.
I know how much you love me,
as much as I love you,
and each time that you think of me,
I know you’ll miss me, too.
that an angel came and called my name,
and took me by the hand.
She said my place was ready,
in heaven far above,
and that I’d have to leave behind,
all those I dearly love.
So when tomorrow starts without me;
don’t think we’re far apart,
for every time you think of me,
I’m right here In your heart.
900 S.
