Robert Roberts

In great sadness,
Robert Garrison "Bobby" Roberts, 71, of Bladenboro, NC, went home to rest with the Lord on Friday, March 20, 2015 after a long battle and extended stay in the hospital recovering from complications from surgery. As he left this earthly realm, He was surrounded by his devoted wife of 51 years, Dianna Grooms Roberts and his 2 daughters , Robin Lynn Roberts of Raleigh, NC and Deborah Grace Roberts Harris of Fuquay-Varina, NC as he left this earthly realm. Mr. Roberts leaves behind a beloved brother, Preston McRae "Pete" Roberts of Lumberton, NC and three beautiful grandchildren, William Garrison Cox, 25, Martha Catherine Grace Cox, 13 and Ryan Parker Harris, 17. He is preceded in death by his father, Preston Theodore Roberts, his mother, Fanny Idell Taylor Roberts, and brothers, Harry Lee Roberts and Willie Henderson Roberts.
Bobby Roberts was a man of great faith, character, integrity and strong moral values. He selflessly served his family, church, community and county and tirelessly strived to make the world a better place for everyone.
Bobby began farming at the age of 15 to provide for his parents and his little brother. When most young men were playing sports, he was tending ten acres of tobacco early in the morning before he would walk to Tar Heel high school and always had to leave early from school to walk back home and tend the field before it got dark. He worked hard all of his life and never complained because of his sense of duty and respect for the needs of his family.
He met the love of his life and married his sweetheart when he was 19 and she was 17 and begin to settle down to make a family of their own all while continuing to care and support his parents. Bobby and Dianna celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary on September 20 and showed the same love towards each other every day of his life as they did the first day they met. Bobby always made sure to show and tell his family how much he loved them and always lived by example showing his daughters how to find the good in all things, to always get along and to find the beauty and laughter in each new day.
Bobby began his political career in 1972 at the age of 28 by winning a seat on the Bladen County Board of Commissioners. He served two years after that as the Tax Supervisor for Bladen County and then was re-elected as County Commissioner and served for several more years. For most of the years he was County Commissioner, he also served as the Chairman of the Board. He opened up and successfully operated Roberts 41 Go Kart ,Inc. People from all over the state and surrounding states would come to race and compete on the slick track in both 4 cycle and 2 cycle events. He then successfully owned and operated Hwy. 41 Grocery and Grill which he ran for over 10 years all while continuing to farm 1500 acres of soybeans, tobacco and corn and continuing to serve his church and the county of Bladen. He would get up at 3:30 every morning to go and open the grill and start making the coffee, biscuits and cooking the sausage and bacon before his morning crew got there to take over to serve the over 100 breakfasts that were served every morning. The grill was a hub of community activity and he enjoyed seeing everyone and talking about religion and politics around the checkerboard table. After he sold the convenience store, he founded and operated a highly successful custom cabinet shop, Carolina Wood Craft. He took tremendous pride in his work and never advertised. His work spoke for itself and by word of mouth, his business continued to grow.
The most important things to Bobby were his family and his faith in God. He served as deacon for several years at Bethel Baptist Church and enjoyed sharing the love of God and the plan of salvation with anyone who would take time to listen. Later on in his life, he learned how to do video and sound editing and ran the AV system at the church and would type up the church bulletins for each service and arrive at the church early to print them off and fold them so that they were ready for the service. Any way that he could find to serve the Lord, he would selflessly do it. He was a true servant of the Lord and a constant witness by the life he led and the kindness he always showed to others. He was a generous man who would help people and put their needs above his own. Some of his last words and advice to his family were to always get along, love each other and to always know Jesus and he would want each of you to do the same. Even in terrible pain and suffering, he still was the strong man of faith he had always been.