A MESSAGE FROM THE FAMILY

DAD BY BILL ROBERTS, JR. TO MY BELOVED DAD AND BUDDY, WHO WILL BE GREATLY MISSED. I LOVED HIS STORIES. HE HAD THREE FAVORITES THAT HE LOVED TO TELL. THE FIRST STORY WAS WHEN HE WAS ON OKINAWA ISLAND IN JAPAN AFTER WORLD WAR II ENDED. THERE WAS ONLY ONE SMALL HUT ON THE ISLAND AND IT WAS OWNED BY A JAPANESE WOMAN. ONE DAY HE ASKED HER WHAT SHE WOULD TAKE FOR THE HUT. SHE SAID SHE WOULD TAKE ONE CIGARETTE FOR IT. NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE GAVE HER THE CIGARETTE AND WAS THE PROUD OWNER OF THE HUT. YOU MAY HAVE SEEN HIM STANDING IN THE DOORWAY OF IT IN THE SLIDESHOW OF PICTURES. THE NEXT STORY WAS WHEN HE THREW A CIGARETTE BUTT ON THE GROUND AND A SERGEANT HAPPENED TO SEE HIM. THE SERGEANT MADE HIM DIG A HOLE THREE-FEET DEEP, DROP THE CIGARETTE BUTT INTO THE HOLE AND BURY IT, THEN DIG IT BACK UP. HE HAD TO DO THIS THREE TIMES IN THREE DIFFERENT HOLES. THE THIRD STORY DAD LOVED TO TELL WAS ABOUT A SERGEANT HE DIDN’T GET ALONG WITH. DAD WAS A MECHANIC IN THE ARMY. ONE DAY THIS SERGEANT LEFT HIS JEEP FOR DAD TO FIX AND LEFT A NOTE SAYING THAT HIS MOTOR WAS MISSING. DAD TURNED THE NOTE OVER AND WROTE, “NO, THE MOTOR IS NOT MISSING. IT IS STILL THERE!” FOR THAT ONE, HE HAD TO PEEL PILES OF POTATOES IN THE MESS HALL FOR THREE WEEKS! DAD HAD A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR AND LOVED TO JOKE AND LAUGH. I WILL MISS JUST SITTING AROUND TALKING TO HIM AND LISTENING TO HIS STORIES. I WILL MISS TAKING HIM PLACES. I WILL MISS THE GOOD TIMES WE HAD TOGETHER. MOST OF ALL, I WILL MISS HIM. I LOVE YOU, DAD. YOUR SON, BILL, JR. THE GREATEST DAD IN THE WORLD BY SHARON MEREDITH BILL ROBERTS, SR., MY DAD, WAS THE GREATEST DAD EVER. HE WAS LOVING, KIND, AND HAD A HEART OF GOLD. TO ME, HE WAS MY HERO AND TO HIM, I WAS HIS LITTLE PRINCESS AND THAT NAME I WILL CARRY PROUDLY FOREVER. HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. I WILL ALWAYS HAVE MY MEMORIES LIKE THE STORIES HE TOLD OF DAYS GONE BY AND ALL THE TIMES I TOOK HIM FOR LONG RIDES TO WHEREVER HE WANTED TO GO. THE MOST PRECIOUS TIME SPENT WITH MY DAD WAS WHEN HE BROUGHT HIS FOUR-WHEELER UP ON THE MOUNTAIN AT HINTON TO RIDE. THE JOY I SAW IN HIS EYES WAS PRICELESS. JUST WATCHING HIM FORGET ALL OF HIS TROUBLES JUST EVEN FOR A LITTLE WHILE BROUGHT JOY TO ME ALSO. DAD IS WITH GOD NOW; HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND PAIN FREE. HE HAS ALL OF HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS AROUND HIM. I CAN CLOSE MY EYES AND SEE THE BIGGEST SMILE ON HIS FACE. I WILL MISS HIM TERRIBLY, BUT HE WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY HEART.

OBITUARY

Bill Lewis Roberts Sr.

Name: Blue Ridge Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens
Address: Beckley, WV

17 October, 1927 – 29 December, 2018

IN THE CARE OF

Blue Ridge Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens

Bill Lewis Roberts, 91, of Beaver, WV passed away December 29, 2018 at the Bowers Hospice House Beckley, WV.

Born on October 17, 1927 in Harper, WV to the late Delbert Roberts and Twila Vada Craighead Brogan.

Bill was a member of the Hinton Gospel Tabernacle, and enjoyed reading his bible, fishing and spending time with his family.

Bill was a World War II veteran serving as a mechanic, earning a victory medal and an army of occupational japan medal. He loved to tell stories of his time overseas and how his sense of humor sometimes got him into trouble.

When bill returned home, he went to work as a coalminer for nineteen years, working seams of coal sometimes only 18 inches to 24 inches tall. He only needed to work one more year to retire, but black lung prevented him from continuing.

Being the hard worker that he was, bill next went to work as a residential contractor, which he did for over twenty years. During his time of working in the mines and working as a contractor, he began to purchase houses and became a landlord, which he did throughout the rest of his life. Many of his tenants loved him like family.

Bill loved fishing, hunting, camping, boating, telling funny stories, spending time with his family, reading his bible, and going to church. He also loved to give cookies and candy to the little ones and could be counted on to have Werther’s originals and wintergreen life savers in his pocket.

Bill is preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Mary Roberts and daughter, Brenda White.

Those left to cherish his memory include 3 children, Ronald (Wilma), Sharon, and Bill Jr. (Lora); grandchildren, Junior Trail, Wanda Smith, Delbert Trail (Terry), Edward Roberts, Pamela Adkins, Ronald Roberts II, Johnny Kincaid (Kelly), Scott Kincaid (Heather), Crystal Clark (Scott), Linda Skeens (William), Bill Roberts III (Mikel); great-grandchildren, Marty, Stephen, Jessica, Brianna, Devan Trail, Ashley Trail, Brenda Trail, Rosalyn Trail, Christina Smith, Thomas Roberts, Brittany Treadway, Cierra Bradley, Zepplen Adkins, John Adkins, Ashley Roberts, Lilly Mae Frame, Johnny Kincaid III, Destiny, Dakota, and Gracie, Christopher, Kincaid, Brent Kincaid, Johnathon Fragile, Austin Kincaid, Morgan Kincaid, Raeanne Peirce, Landon Peirce, Basil Miller, Corey P. and Samuel Skeens, and Kenya Roberts; great-great grandchildren, Destiny Roberts, Kaitlyn Roberts and Austin Kincaid, ; 3 brothers, James, Vernon and Roy Lee.

Funeral service will be held at Blue Ridge Funeral Home on Friday, January 4, 2019 at 2 pm.

Friends may gather with the family on Thursday, January 3, 2019 from 6-8pm at Blue Ridge Funeral Home.

Flowers may be sent to the family or donations can be made to the Bowers Hospice House in Bill’s memory.

Arrangements are being made by Blue Ridge Funeral Home, 5251 Robert C Byrd Drive, Beckley, WV

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