the year has been quite I miss David  (Gern's) sense of Humor.
I hope he has found peace. 

I knew Dave from Point Park College.  He was the coolest person I ever met.  His taste in music was second to none.  Every time I hear a Patsy Cline song I think of him.  I wish we had kept in touch over the years. My thoughts are with the family and friends who loved him.

David was a talented and amazing person.  My condolences to his family and friends who loved him dearly and he loved in return.

Uncle David was more like a brother to me given that he was just a little over ten years older than me.  Growing up he teased me like a brother, but I secretly adored him and looked up to him.  Even in his teasing he had an incredible wit, once telling me that he was going to put my cabbage patch doll in the food processor to make coleslaw… As a teenager I thought David was the coolest – I admired his love of art, horticulture, architecture, music, etc.  Through him, I learned to see art in places that I never thought to look.  He once painted me a large glow-in-dark brain neuron that adorned my walls for years… He was always eager to share his love of art.  He took me and my cousin to the Warhol museum when we were young and tried to get us excited about the exhibits (at the time, my cousin and I were more into dancing through the museum’s halls vs. appreciating art).  To family events David brought the joy, fun and unusual.  For many years he would give me mixed tapes or obscure CDs for Christmas to introduce me to new music – and I actually liked some of it!  As I got older, I realized that David wasn’t just really cool, he also had an amazing heart and spirit.  He deeply cared about the causes he pursued, and the world will not be the same without him.  Moreover, he leaves a big void in our family, and I miss him terribly.    I looked through some old emails from him and noticed (for the first time) that he signed some of his emails with “Peace, David.”  Peace indeed.  I hope we all find peace.   

David and I were typical brothers growing up. There was one time I was trying to teach him to hit a baseball with the bat.  I kept getting closer trying to make sure he could hit the ball with the bat until I got to close and he hit me in the head with the bat. 

In your loss know your care for him helped him live his life as he wanted.  

Gurn,
Your passing leaves a hole in my life. 
 

Gern was such a sincere spirit who I got to work with on a couple of great art projects in the 90s.  We won first place sculpture ($100) at the PPG building Peoples Art Show for our collaboration: "Never Leaving the Perpendicular" (Gern's title), a memorial to the Farmers National Bank Building that was torn down at the beginning of the "Mayor Murphy tear down block after block of buildings downtown scourge" that thankfully didn't continue.  He documented the heck out of that demolition from start to finish: color & black/white photos, 16 mm film color & B/W, video-recording, slides, collecting debris from the pit.  Then we took the sculpture apart, took it over to the Warhol Museum, set it up for two days, tore it back down & set it back up at PPG Place for another two weeks.  So many details: he was a fountain of creative ideas that were SOLID.  I have never in my life collaborated with a more prolific & sensitive soul who was a complete pleasure to work with.  Another fond memory: drinking Kona coffee at Forbes Terrace in the garden while plotting another creative endeavor.  We also memorialized the doomed Forbes Cottages in 1998 in a guerrilla passive-aggressive protest event that also was well-documented.  My heart is broken at the loss of our Gern who felt more like a brother to me than friend.  RIP beautiful soul...

You had to know David in his younger years. He came to Pittsburgh when he was 17 to attend Point Park college. He had a very artistic streak.  I was one of his biggest fans of his art work. From his exhibits at the Pittsburgh art Festival to many of art showing I always was there. His art work was very abstract with some of his recent being his best. He loved working at Filmmakers. He was in to the old-time cinematography. He was in to saving the old-time architect with in the City of Pittsburg. He could look at any old building in the city and discuss the era it came from.  He loves to garden and volunteered a lot of his time helping with some of the urban gardens around Pittsburgh. He helped make me the gardener I am. I will miss discussing plants with him.  David had a love for animals and the way he ran and played with my dogs through the years was fun to watch. Abbie my most current dog will miss jumping on David to wake him up when he stayed over. He called Abbie this therapy dog. 
David biked all over Pittsburgh, Frick Park and the south side trail were his favorite to ride and most recently to walk. If you are out walking the trails and here the rustle of the wind that will be David’s spirit.     
David, you always called me when you got in a mess to fix it. I could not fix this one 
My heart is sad as you always had a special place in my heart  
Your sister Debbie    


      David  was a remarkable human being in his own right, he was blessed with a rich imagination and the talent and ability to express it in unique and in some cases unconventional ways.                                                  Although happiness and joy would often times elude David throughout his short life here on this planet, his heart felt desire was to share happiness and joy with people in his life especially close friends and family members. “Gern” was the name he chose to go by, but to close family members he will always be remembered as Brother by his siblings, Uncle by his niece but most of all a true friend to all of us...Mr. David “Gern” Roberts you will be truly missed, so Rest In Peace kind sir....

Gern and I shared a house at Forbes Terrace from 1994-1998, with a whole cast of characters over the years. Everybody loved Gern. All my condolences, all my sympathies, all my best wishes to Deb and all of Gern's loved ones. I remember Gern as the sweetest, the kindest, the funniest, and in all the world the most creative housemate anyone could have had. His peanut-butter pumpkin soup every autumn. His clawfoot bathtub, that moved around the house and yard, full of dark soil, living plants, and constantly evolving art. His answering a phone call from a telemarketer who he strung along until the close, and then accepted the sale, and then broke the news that he could not pay because "I---I---I am a RADISH." His basement full of projects. All the parties he decorated and cooked for, and then let us take the credit when the guests were dazzled. So many wonderful memories. The music he taught me about. All the artists he introduced to us. We all went through hard times during those years, and it seemed at the right time Gern was always in the kitchen to cheer us up. Right now my heart is bursting with sadness and shock. But those are the memories I'll carry forever. With love, James Endres Howell (Jimmer Endres)

My brother David was always the one that would bring something funny &silly to the family Christmas gatherings,like the silly hats one year. Wish I could walk the trail buy my house with him like we did in earlier years.

David was such an awesome brother. In his earlier years spent lots of time at his art show. 

OBITUARY

David Owen Roberts

November 29, 1967 – October 15, 2021

H.P. Brandt Funeral Home

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