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Donald Roberts Obituary
He grew up in California and in Hawaii, where he watched the bombing of Pearl Harbor from his rooftop. He graduated from Punahou School in 1951 and from The California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) in 1955. He served in the Air Force and studied physics at MIT before entering Harvard Medical School, from which he graduated as a Pediatrician in 1963.
Don married Muriel Rice Roberts in 1960. They had three children, Cameron Ellis, Carson Bruce, and Karen Lea (later Jai). His Pediatric Residency was at Seattle Children's Hospital. The family moved to Pocatello in 1966, where Dr. Roberts joined Doctors Bill Brydon and Roger Boe at the Pocatello Children's Clinic. He practiced there long enough to care for the children of some of his first patients.
He was instrumental in starting the Citizens' Environmental Council at the time the country was waking up to the need to act to protect our planet. Don played banjo and guitar and enjoyed singing with friends.
In 1975 he returned to Seattle for a Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology and from there, joined the Army and practiced at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. After his Army service, he joined a group practice in Kihei, Maui, and later established his own practice, Kihei Pediatric Clinic. In 1995 Dr. Roberts returned to Pocatello where he was a Pediatrician in the Family Medicine Residency Program at ISU, from which he retired.
Don was a brilliant and witty man who loved the children for whom he cared for many years.
Don's daughter Jai (Karen) Williams and her children, Jessica and James, died in a house fire in 2004. His son Cameron died in 2019. After cremation, his ashes will join those of his children and grandchildren near the Rice family cabin on Baker's Island, Massachusetts.
His family asks that any contributions to his memory be given to a charity of the donor's choice, or to the Pocatello Idaho Foodbank. Condolences may be shared with the family by visiting www.downardfuneralhome.com
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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