Robert M. “Bob” Roberts Jr.
Robert M. “Bob” Roberts Jr., aged 64, passed away on March 20, 2023, at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka.
He is survived by his wife, Robin (Pretzer) and daughter Aimee Roberts of the home; son Michael, wife Jamie and granddaughter Merideth; sisters LaQuita and Roberta Roberts, brother Charles and wife Susanne (Beem); and sister Ruth Ann (Roberts) Bundy and brother-in-law Mike. He is also survived by nephew Marcus Hernandez (Roberta) and wife Kendra (Norman); niece Jacqueline Bundy (Ruth Ann) and fiancé Matthew Kiger; and nieces Kirsten Bundy (Ruth Ann) and Linnea Roberts (Charles).
He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert M. Roberts Sr. and LaQuita Joyce (Holm).
Other survivors include his mother- in-law, Avis Pretzer; brothers-inlaw Randy (Judy) Pretzer and Rodney (Linda) Pretzer; nieces Courtney Parker and Rachel Pretzer and nephew Charles Pretzer and wife Katrina.
Bob was born on October 28, 1958, in Council Grove, KS, the third eldest of five children, joining sisters LaQuita “Kay” and Roberta “Raye.” They would later be joined by brother Charles and sister Ruth Ann. Bob was interested in sports from a young age and both he and his brother Chuck delighted in reading about the athletic accomplishments of Jim Thorpe, with Bob gleaning enough second-hand knowledge about Thorpe from Chuck to write a book report without having read the book himself. Bob spent many hours as a youth traversing the small town of Parkerville by bicycle with Chuck, Ruth Ann and Dan Strom. He was baptized at Parkerville Baptist Church as a youth and was a member of First Baptist Church of Council Grove for much of his adult life. He graduated from White City High School in 1976 and attended the Manhattan Area Vocational Technical School’s auto mechanics program.
Following this, he would work at various locations in the Council Grove area, including Roberts Station in White City with his father, Bob, and Industrial Plastics, now known as Quality Profile. The occupation he most enjoyed was the nearly two decades he spent as a Trackman with the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe Railroad, after which he retired due to disability. The job gave him a great love for trains and he enjoyed showing people the tracks on which he had worked around the state.
Bob married Robin Pretzer on April 18, 1981, and the couple had two children, Aimee, born in 1983 and Michael in 1984. Bob had a special rapport with children, especially his granddaughter Merideth born in 2012, and greatly enjoyed taking care of her during the early years of her life after his retirement from BNSF.
Bob loved cars, especially muscle cars, and could instantly tell you the make and model of a particular car, as well as the differences between model years and all of their features and could almost always be found with a car magazine in hand. He especially enjoyed educating his son and nephew on why a 1970 Dodge Charger was much more powerful than a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500. He also enjoyed western novels and films and was a lifelong fan of the Kansas State Wildcats and the Kansas City Chiefs. Bob also loved rock music, with favorite bands including Volbeat and Five Finger Death Punch among many others and he always enjoyed playing it loud. Among Bob’s most favorite activities, however, were the afternoons spent working on a project in the garage with his father Bob and working on the house with his son Michael.
Over the last several years, Bob greatly enjoyed spending vacation time at Lakewoods Resort in the Ozarks with family.
Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on April 8 at First Baptist Church of Council Grove. A private burial service will be held at a later date.