Nearly three years after the death of her beloved husband, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans passed away at the Apple, Calif., home they shared. She was 88 years old.

Dale and Roy starred in 35 films and co-wrote a number of songs, including their classic departing tune, "Happy Trails to You." They met on a movie set in 1944 and became engaged on horseback, right before a performance. They married in 1947, and formed an instant family.

Dale had one son, Tom, from her first marriage, and Roy had an adopted daughter, Cheryl, and birth children Linda Lou and Roy Rogers, Jr. (Dusty), from his first wife, Arline, who had died after Dusty's birth. Roy and Dale had one child together, Robin, who died at age 2 from complications associated with Down syndrome. Over the years, they adopted four more children: Mary Little Doe (Dodie), of Native American heritage: John David (Sandy), a battered child from an orphanage in Kentucky; Marion (Mimi), their foster child from Scotland; and Debbie, a Korean War orphan whose father was a G.I. of Puerto Rican ancestry.

The family suffered a grat deal of heartache over the years, losing three of their children: Robin (whose death inspired Dale to write the book Angel Unaware), Debbie, in a church bus accident when she was 12, and Sandy, of an accidental death while serving with the military in Germany.

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday. Condolences can be sent to Queen_Of_The_West@royrogers.com