Wayne Leroy Roberts

Wayne Leroy Roberts, born February 27, 1936, entered into rest on August 9, 2023.

Wayne was the son of William and Martha (Crowley) Roberts and grew up in Dalton, Nebraska. After losing his father at a young age, his uncle and aunt Laurence and Mary Miller became his legal guardians. Wayne attended Dalton High School, where he excelled in athletics. Mary and Laurence's generosity and determination to educate all of their children, along with Wayne's academic achievements, enabled him to attend the University of Nebraska on a full scholarship. There he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1958. He would later earn a Master's Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Wayne married Suzanne Coulter on August 24,1958 at Potter United Methodist Church in Potter, Nebraska. He was a faithful and dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather throughout their sixty-five years of marriage.

Wayne is survived by his wife Suzanne, sons The Rev. Dr. Jim Roberts (Jan), Bill Roberts (Jill), daughter Kim Bain (Darryl), cherished grandchildren: Hannah (Charles), Shannon, Andrew (Hannah), Molly (Joey), Bethany (Thomas), Coulter (Marisol), Macy, Blake and Sawyer, and seven great-grandchildren (Arden, Jane, Eamon, Clara, Ruby, Irene, and Grace), and his brother Larry Miller (Nancy), sister Laura Merchant (Don), sister Tammy Gass (Greg), and sister Patti Dorshorst, sister-in-law Verna Roberts, brother and sister-in-law Jim and Carol Coulter, and many nieces and nephews.

Wayne was preceded in death by his parents William and Martha Roberts, aunt and uncle Mary and Laurence Miller, brother George Roberts, sisters Elaine Stacey, Mabel Briggs, and Mary Lou Peterson, brother-in-law Duane Dorshorst, and brother-in-law Bob Coulter.

Wayne's career as an electrical engineer for the United States Air Force led him and his family to assignments in Japan, Germany, Kansas City, Missouri and, finally, San Antonio in 1976. He was a gifted handyman and craftsman and enjoyed many hours in his workshop, creating wooden wonders that were often given to others as gifts.

Wayne was a steadfast man of faith, beloved and cherished by his family and friends. When we remember Wayne Roberts, we recall the legendary victory in the Potter-Dalton Football Game of 1953, dancing the jitter bug with Suzanne, family vacations in the blue Volkswagon bus, plaid shirts, wooden pens, and his reputation for making friends out of strangers at his favorite places like Costco.

Wayne's Celebration of Life will take place September 3, 2023 at 2:00pm at the Potter United Methodist Church, the same place where he married Suzanne sixty-five years ago.