Melissa Roberts' eyes kept filling with tears Sunday during the dedication of her new Habitat for Humanity home on McFall Street in Benton, but they were tears of joy.

Volunteers said they had plenty of paper hankies to go around.

"I've never owned a house," Roberts said. "This is so beautiful - I can't believe it."

There were both tears and laughter, and prayer as well, during the dedication ceremony.

Former NBA player and coach Doug Collins was there with his wife, Kathy, his mother and sister, Linda Collins, to welcome Roberts.

The Collins family donated the land to Habitat. It had been the site of a home where Doug's brother, Jeff Collins, died in a fire.

Doug Collins thanked the 50 or more people who attended the ceremony.

"What a tribute to my brother," he said, his voice breaking. He remembered Jeff, saying, "Even in his darkest moments he had a loving heart."

Thanking Habitat for its hard work in turning the lot into a home, he said, "My brother's memory will live here, as Melissa and her boys make their home here."

He noted that his mother and sister "pass this house every day" and will be reminded of his brother.

Murphy Hart, an attorney who is president of the Franklin County Habitat chapter, also spoke of the tragedy of Jeff Collins' death, but the rebirth of the site as a home for a family.

"A lot of work has gone into this house," Hart said.

Roberts and her two sons, Devan Feezor, 16, and Tyler Roberts, 10, had been living in Thompsonville. All three helped work on the house, painting, installing siding or whatever they could do. Melissa's family and in-laws also pitched in.

Melissa Roberts said the new home marks a turnaround for her family. Both Devan's father and her husband, Kevin, Tyler's father who also raised Devan, died about a year ago, she said. And in July, Melissa's employer, Godfrey Boats (formerly Mariah Boats) closed. She's now taking classes at Rend Lake College under a Man-Tra-Con Corp. program for displaced workers.

"I want to become a medical transcriptionist," she said. There seem to be jobs in the field, she said, "and you also can work at home if a child is sick." She paused a moment, then added quietly, "It's hard being a single mom."

Bud and Ruth Montgomery, who coordinated work on the house, also expressed gratitude to the dozens of volunteers and businesses who built the home. He estimated he alone averaged 40 hours a week for five-plus months to complete the home. He praised the volunteers, adding that there are "about four men I could call any time and they'd show up to help."

Bud Montgomery led a prayer to open the ceremony, asking God to watch over the family in their new home. He also presented them with a Bible.

Montgomery said many volunteers came in as crews, with a bunch from Circuit City in Marion putting on the roof, and a crew led by Sean Bond spraying the foam insulation in the attic and walls.

David Goss, who lives near Macedonia, a Habitat volunteer since 1978, has worked on six of the 12 houses the group has built. He's also a board member of the organization.

The home's outer walls, inside partitions and roof trusses were built by residents of the Big Muddy Correctional Center. Some have written to the Habitat chapter, saying being part of the project has given them a new sense of self worth.

Another volunteer takes pictures of each home as it is being built. The photos are compiled into a scrapbook that then is presented to the new owners. The Habitat chapter, too, keeps a scrapbook on each house it builds.

Gloria Atchison, executive secretary of the Benton-West City Chamber of Commerce, was taking plenty of photos of the house and ceremony. Her husband, Dave, executive director for the Independent Electrical Contractors of Illinois, and his group donated all electrical work on the house.

Melissa and the boys were excited at getting to choose the colors for their home. She chose a deep rose color for the kitchen walls. Devan, who said "it was shocking" to get his own room, said he had debated before choosing a muted blue-gray for his bedroom walls. And Tyler, who staked out the room that became his as soon as inside walls were put in place, chose a vivid blue for the walls of his room. By the end of the ceremony Sunday, truckloads of furnishings were arriving - including Tyler's bunk beds.

Doug Collins, chatting with Hart later, thanked him for following up on the family's plans for the property.

"He took the ball and ran with it," he said of Hart, who is in his sixth year on the Habitat board.

During the ceremony, Doug Collins noted the many contributions, large and small, that turned a vacant lot into a home filled with promise and dreams for a young family.

He asked all those attending to continue "to reach out to others with whatever you have to give."

linda.rush@thesouthern.com / 351-5079