Joe Felix Roberts, Sr.

Joe Felix Roberts was born on June 11, 1931 in Damascus, Georgia to the late Joe and Nora Roberts. He was the second oldest of eleven children. He attended school in Damascus. In 1952, he chose to serve his country as a United States Marine. While serving in the Korean Conflict, he was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the U.N. Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corp, he met and married the love of his life, Annie Louise Smith. From this union, they were blessed with a son, Joe Jr. and a daughter, Cheryl. Joe and Annie were married for a wonderful 59 years and 11 months. In 1966, Joe joined Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, IL under the tutelage of its founder, Reverend Dr. Clay Evans, and served as an Usher and Sunday School teacher for numerous years. Joe remained a faithful and active member of Fellowship MBC for over 30 years until he moved to Houston, Texas. Working hard and supporting his family were principles instilled in Joe from an early age and practiced throughout his life. He worked two full-time jobs simultaneously for many years. After successful careers with the City of Chicago and the Trailways Bus Line, Joe started another phase of employment as a full-time United States Postal Service employee, retiring in 1996. In 1997, Joe and Annie relocated to Houston, Texas. Shortly after settling in Houston, he joined with the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church. Joe served as a Sunday School teacher and attended Bible study on Wednesday afternoons. Joe was a faithful member of Galilee for 18 years. Joe loved fishing and was a master fisherman, who took pleasure in showing his kids, brothers, nephews, grandchildren and friends (okay, basically everyone) how to "catch'em." His specialty was catching Crappie. According to Joe, the best Crappie were in Texas! He made sure that everyone in the family knew he was the king of Texas fishing by casually mentioning after each trip how many he had caught. The ratio was usually at least 2:1 in his favor. He taught us all how to hold our "mouth right!!! Joe's oldest great grandson, Javien Pickens, gave him the nickname "PawPaw." Soon, it seemed like everyone family and friends would call him "PawPaw." Joe was preceded in death by his parents Joe and Nora Roberts, sister, Vivian Benton, brothers, Joseph Warren Roberts, Tommie Lester Roberts, Robert Roberts, and Daniel Roberts. Joe answered God's call and departed this life on February 20, 2015 at 5:15 AM. He leaves fond memories to be cherished by his devoted wife, Annie Louise Roberts, son, Joe (Dorothy) Roberts, Jr. of Hazel Crest, IL, Cheryl (Prentice) Roberts Coleman, Houston, TX, one sister, Obergenia Brown of East Point, GA, four brothers, Willard L. (Charlotte) Roberts, Chicago, IL, David N. (Geneva) Roberts, Sr., Willie J. (Gloria) Roberts, Albany, GA and Don M. (DeeDee) Roberts, Fairburn, GA, granddaughters, Jennika White, Houston, TX, Cheryl Roberts, Country Club Hills, IL, Joann Roberts, Seattle, WA, Tionni (Dewayne) Montgomery, Phoenix, AZ, Taylor Coleman, Houston, TX and grandson, Rodney (Ri) Story, Hiroshima, Japan, brother-in-laws Fitcher (Mary) Smith, Norman (Sylvia) Smith, Atlanta, GA, sister-in-law, Dorothy (Charlie Will) Perkins, Blakely, GA, great granddaughter, LaChandra McCray, Phoenix, AZ, great grandsons, Javien Pickens, Houston, TX, and Makinley Smith-Roberts, Country Club Hills, IL, Kenneth Story, Hiroshima, Japan, Roosevelt McCray, Phoenix, AZ, godchildren, Angela Raines-Caldwell, Quincy, IL, Darcia Bell, Madison, WI, Marcus Floyd, Chicago, IL and many nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.