Jerry Ray Roberts

We never know when God will call us home. At this writing many friends and family have already crossed over and my invitation could come at anytime, so I have decided to write my own obituary while my mind and hands still function. I looked at other people’s obits for an example, but they looked more like a resume. God already knows my resume, so I’ll try to keep it short.

I was born March 22,1951 to Nathan Letcher and Doris Louis DeLaune Roberts. They named me Jerry Ray Roberts. I was the third child of three children. Evidently, they were satisfied with what they had because I was the last child. My two older sisters and I made up a great mixture of a family in the 50’s and 60’s. As the only son I received no favors. We took turns cleaning the bathroom. 

I was raised in a strict Christian family, led by my father, whose military career through WWII deemed him the commander. Each of us answered every yes or no question with “Mam” or “Sir”. Reprimands and punishment were always carried out as a lesson and not with anger. We grew up with respect for each other.

I worked various farming jobs from picking peas or fruits to hauling hay and plowing fields until I reached 16 years of age. During the summer of 1967 I went to work on my first full time job as an Orderly at the same hospital my mother and oldest sister were working. I started out earning 60 cents per hour in an air-conditioned building, out of the rain and scorching sun. What more could you ask?

After a well-structured childhood I graduated High School and began a search for a career. If I became bored with one choice, I went on to another until I met the love of my life on March 12, 1971. It was love at first sight and I married Patricia Faye Walters fifty days after we met. A little over nineteen months later we became parents when Anna Cherie Roberts became our first pride and joy. Twenty-two months later Adam Heath Roberts was born and completed our family.

The ups and downs of family life were guided by a Christen education and dedication by both of us. Every parent wants a better life for their children than what they had as children. Hard work and long hours were required to support the family, but the alternative was not an option. I will not bore you with where I worked or how long I worked at different jobs. At this point it is irrelevant in the scheme of life.

Throughout my life I’ve had tragedies, trials, setbacks and sickness but it was always offset by equal amounts of happiness, pride, accomplishment and peace. Every trial strengthen me and prepared me for the next. These are all promises God the Father made to make us strong, and he never gives us more than we can endure.

I worked for 47 years at various jobs until I “retired” and decided to work at home. I’ve built or rebuilt several masterpieces that will probably end up in someone “garage sale” but everything has my name, and a date inscribed on it. The documentation of my name that I have signed in my various careers is probably buried in a dusty cardboard box somewhere in a dusty warehouse but my masterpieces may bring a smile to someone when they turn it over and see my name and date. I guess everyone’s legacy is to be “remembered’.

At some point in time my name will not be legible on my tombstone and my history here on earth will fade into oblivion as it should. My distant diluted gene pool will not recognize my name or who I was, but I will live on in the arms of my Savior. I pray that you will join us there. Patty and I will be waiting for you.

I am preceded in death by my parents, and sister, Margaret Martinez. 

I am survived by my wife, Patricia Faye Roberts; son, Adam Roberts and wife Brandy; daughter, Anna Roberts and Mike Tristan; sister, Doris Ellen Melton; grandchildren, James Russell Jordan, Jesse Ryan Jordan, Jacob Brian Farmer, Seth Adam Roberts, Sarah Elizabeth Roberts and Emma Grace Roberts; great grandchildren, Bryson James Farmer, Savannah Louise Farmer, Paisley Grace Terrell, Elliott Ryan Jordan and Daisy Rebecca Jordan; and numerous loving friends and family.

Honoring my wishes, my pallbearers are Darren Mettlen, Rusty Ainsworth, Dwayne Sisk, Bill Wingfield, Randyle Walters, Jr. and RandyleWalters, Sr.

Visitation will be held on Monday December 16, 2024, between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm at Faith and Family Funeral Services in Batson, Texas. Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 pm on Monday, December 16, 2024, with Pastor Tim Delahousaye officiating. Burial will follow at Moss Hill cemetery in Moss Hill, Texas.