Arthur "Art" Henry William Roberts

It is with great sadness that we announce our dear father, grandfather, and friend, Arthur Henry William Roberts (but please call him Art), passed on April 25th, 2019. He was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Ruth (Hildebrand), and older brothers, George (Jean), Fred (Irene), and Steve (Hazel). He is survived by his three daughters, Darlene (Blair), Diane, and Doren, as well as 3 dashing grandsons, Cody (Haley), Will (Shannon), and Bryn (Rachel), and his lifelong friend of 89+ years Bill Taylor. Art was born to Herbert and Dorothy (Collins) in the Spring of 1929 and lived at the same house in the Norwood Flats until he was 55. He accomplished quite a bit in that time. Summers were spent at Grand Beach, he graduated from Norwood Collegiate, he took evening classes to become an accountant, and he met his soulmate. Art and Ruthie met at Searle Grain in 1952, were engaged in 1953, and were married in 1954. They had Dar, and then Di, and thought they were done until Do surprised them 6 years later. Forever a charmer and a people person, Art was always very involved in the community; whether it be in multiple capacities at the Champlain Community Club, Treasurer for the inaugural Festival du Voyageur, or as a hockey convener despite not having any children who played hockey. Music and entertaining were both lifelong passions for Art. When the girls were young, he used his own large music collection and a reel-to-reel recorder to DJ local dances and make sure grandma got to dance to her favourite songs. When they finally to moved to North Kildonan in the 80s, they relished the opportunity to expand the guest list for their legendary Christmas Eve parties. Starting out with just the Taylors and Clavelles, it soon grew to include friends, family, neighbours, and anybody who needed a place to go. It is still unclear how guests found space to walk around, as the basement with both orange walls and carpet was filled to the brim with food. Art was famous for his barbecued pork tenderloin, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, meatballs, and for making sure his daughters kept everyone’s drinks full. If you asked him, Art was an excellent curler and bowler. If you checked the standings, it at least kept him busy and active. He did both into his 70s and his quick wit made him a popular figure around the rink and the lanes. Somehow, Art found time to go to work. Searle Grain was the start of a long and successful career that saw him retire in 1989 as Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance for the Province of Manitoba. His next title was Grandpa, and alongside Grandma they were two of the best. Their grandsons were absolutely spoiled rotten, and never went anything close to hungry. They were chauffeur and babysitter extraordinaires, so dedicated to making sure you got to hockey practice on time that they were never less than a half hour early. Always telling them to “be relatively good”, Grandpa was an excellent role model on how to be kind, how to treat people right, and how to tell bad jokes. Always a charmer, Art’s social gifts were still on full display when he moved for the second time in his life to the wonderful community at 20 Fort Street. He played cribbage, bridge, called bingo, and happily joined in on trips to the casino. After Grandma hung her up knitting needles for good, his friends and neighbours in the building were a great support and his family always truly appreciated that. Art’s third and final move was to the GD-3 ward at HSC. In the hospital for the first time in his life, his charisma was still on full display for the excellent physicians, nurses, aides, and staff who got to know the joy of meeting Art. Art’s family would like to sincerely thank all of these kind people for their passion and hard work. Art will always be remembered for being a kind, funny, and inviting man. He had time for everyone, and was able to make a lasting impression in just the wink of a Lake Louise blue eye. His family would love it if you could share a story about him with someone you love, to help his memory carry on, and perhaps even have a dark rum and coke in tall glasses while you’re at it. We will celebrate his life on at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, June 4th at Thomson Funeral Home 669 Broadway. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Manitoba.