William "Bill" E Roberts' Obituary
Bill was born on December 17, 1939, in the community of Kerrville, TN, which is situated between Millington & Munford. He is preceded in death by his parents, James E. Roberts and Juanita Rhodes Roberts, and a brother, James T. Roberts. He is also preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Gloria Baxter Roberts. He is survived by his son, Jeff Roberts of Memphis. Also survived by his brother Richard Roberts of Collierville, Linda Carpenter (Roy) of San Antonio, FL, Dolores Jones of Gallaway, Eddie Roberts of Oakland, and Judy Carlton of Somerville. Extended surviving members include his dog CoCo whom was at his side when he passed away, and his grand dog Teddy.
Bill grew up in various areas of northern Shelby County. His family eventually moved into the city of Memphis. Bill is a graduate of Treadwell High School, class of 1958. He was an “A” student and proud to be a part of the math club. He remained an active part of his class gatherings up until recently. Bill worked for Moseley Robinson Drug Store during and after High School. Not long after High School, he went to work in Medical Records for John Gaston Hospital. It was there that he joined the department’s bowling league. During one of his bowling games, he met a lovely young lady that felt it was her duty to pester him by untying his shoelaces. That lady was Gloria Baxter, and in 1962, she became Bill’s wife. Bill & Gloria were married at Broadway Baptist Church on Shelby Drive in Memphis, TN. They honeymooned in Hot Springs, AR. Not too long after they were married, Bill was drafted into the Army. He ended up in El Paso, Texas, where Gloria joined him. Gloria and Bill welcomed their only child, a son, Jeff Roberts, born in 1965. After leaving El Paso, they returned to Memphis, where Bill began work at the Defense Depot. One day, he read a bulletin board notice stating that anyone interested could test for the FAA exam. Bill tested for it and passed. This began a very long and challenging career for Bill. While working for the FAA, Bill started as an Air Traffic Controller. In order to advance his career, he had to bid on jobs outside of his region, and some of those towns were small. While working in Johnson City, TN, he also had to fill in as the local weatherman from time to time. Pepsi-Cola was in Johnson City, and from time to time, he would greet Joan Crawford on her flights there. Bill moved on to other cities such as Knoxville, TN, Oklahoma City, OK, Montgomery, AL, Memphis, TN, and Jackson, TN. Bill had the opportunity to work as an instructor at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Okc. That led him to learning about automated flight service facilities, which required him to live briefly in Newport Beach, CA, where he gladly took Gloria and Jeff. Bill survived the Air Traffic Controller’s strike in the early 80’s by being one of the few that did not strike. He was loyal to the FAA, and it was a great career for him. He was able to advance to Chief and was working at the Jackson, TN office, which he opened in 1987. He worked for the FAA and the federal government for 43 years.
After retirement, he worked as a Lockheed Martin consultant with Washington Consulting. Gloria was retired as well at that point and traveled with him often. They were able live short-term in Seattle, WA, Prescott, AZ, San Francisco, CA, Salt Lake City, UT, and many other locations. After 6 years of traveling, Bill went to work at Coldwell Banker in Jackson, TN, as a realtor. He loved his friends there and his clients. Bill & Gloria really loved their 27 years in Jackson and built many great friendships within their church and their neighborhood. Bill & Gloria decided in 2015 to build a home in Collierville in order to be closer to their son. Bill worked for Crye-Leike Quail Hollow for a couple of years until Gloria’s health began to decline.
When talking about Bill, you have to talk about Gloria. They did everything together. They loved to entertain in their home. Whether it was the young married couples they taught in Sunday school, their dinner group, or many family holidays. They were both very active in church. Bill was an ordained deacon and served in various churches, while Gloria worked on staff at various churches. They loved their friends, their family, and most importantly, they loved the Lord. They were very active in all of their church homes, including Northwest Baptist Church, OKC, Bellevue Baptist Church, Englewood Baptist Church, Jackson, TN, and with the Jack Knox Sunday School Class at Germantown Baptist Church. After Gloria’s passing, Bill truly was thankful to everyone in their Sunday school class.
Bill loved many things, such as trying wonderful restaurants, traveling to warm destinations, fine automobiles, real estate, collecting various items, and fine watches. He loved spoiling his family and especially CoCo.
Bill missed Gloria. He loved their time together, and I know that he is rejoicing that they are together again. Bill will be missed.
There will be a visitation on Tuesday, December 30th, at Germantown Baptist Church from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM. The funeral service will follow immediately. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to Lindenwood Christian Church Mobile Food Pantry.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38119 (901) 767-8930.
“Where Memphis comes to remember, since 1924.”
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