Gerald Albert Roberts' Obituary
Long-time Tulsa resident Jerry Roberts passed away November 14, 2011, after a lengthy illness. A memorial service will be held at Floral Haven on Monday, November 21st, at 3:00 p.m. Jerry was born in Hastings, Nebraska, April 22, 1926, to Eva Dodson. Roberts, a homemaker, and Gerald Albert 'Dutch' Roberts, a locomotive engineer. The family moved to Lincoln during Jerry's senior year in high school. Like many of his classmates, he entered the military at an early age during World War II. After completing Army officer's training, he was assigned to an intelligence-gathering unit, serving first in France and eventually in Japan during the reconstruction following the war. Jerry graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Business Administration degree. He trained with the FBI in Washington, D.C. and worked for a time in Chicago as an investigator. He relocated to Tulsa to be near several cousins and his friends, George and Bonnie Truka, who both grew up in Hastings. Jerry was recalled during the Korean War, serving in the Air Force, until being discharged at Tinker Air Force Base in 1952. He worked as an insurance agent until he retired in 2001. He liked nothing better than coffee breaks with his fellow agents and friends. Jerry was active in the Porsche Club (Warbonnet Region), University of Nebraska Alumni association, and the Oklahoma Chapter of the Nebraska Cornhuskers Club. He was a 32 degree and a 50 year member of the Masons. Family surviving Jerry include his wife Beth, and her son Joseph A. Smalley, his wife Lucy, and children, Jay, Hal, and Arabella, of Tunbridge Well, Kent, United Kingdom; and her daughter Sarah Ledford, her husband Kenny, and daughter, Georgia, of Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Relatives in Tulsa include: Doris Dodson, Mike, Amy, Jake, and Sam Dodson, Steve, Stone, and Wythe Dodson; Bert, Mark, and Jonathan Berry, and Bonnie Munson. Others are Diane, Bill, and Tayler Mitchell, Denver, Colorado, and Lou Larkin, Tustin, California. Special friends and classmates at the University of Nebraska are Harve White, Wichita, Kansas, and Bill Blue, Lincoln, Nebraska. Appreciation is given to Cheryl Evans, Barbie Beaver, and Florence White and John for their loving care of Jerry. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests consideration of donations to Saint Francis Hospice and Clarehouse. Online condolences may be left at www.floralhaven.com
What’s your fondest memory of Gerald?
What’s a lesson you learned from Gerald?
Share a story where Gerald's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Gerald you’ll never forget.
How did Gerald make you smile?