David Thomas Roberts

1990 - 2017

David Thomas Roberts

Green Bay - David Thomas Roberts, 27, Denver, Colorado, passed away in his sleep on Friday, December 29, 2017 at the home of his parents while he was visiting over the Christmas holiday. He was born on December 17, 1990 in Kansas City, Kansas to Thomas and Dawn (Pulliam) Roberts. David attended Green Bay Preble High School graduating in 2009. He continued his education at the University Wisconsin Madison, graduating in 2014 and immediately became a devoted member of the Badger Alumni. David began a career in Denver, Colorado at Tetratech, where he was currently employed. He was a sports enthusiast and played baseball and hockey through school.

"I sit here in my living room, surrounded by silence and pictures of my beautiful boy. I feel as blessed as I do heartbroken. Blessed for the 27 years god gave me with this amazing young man. Heartbroken for the first love he will never have, for the children that won't know the joy of sports thru their father's eyes. Those of you who never met David will never understand the true joy he found in The Badgers and sports in general. He was just a practical, easy going soul, who never asked for anything, even when you just wanted to give him the world. Always so quiet, unless a game was on and oh, you didn't go to a game with him to socialize, you went to watch the game. He so loved his 4 years in Madison and the friends he made. Thank you to those of you who have reached out to us. I go on his Facebook page and see the joy he brought to everyone he touched. We should all be so lucky. We didn't know he was coming home for Christmas. He surprised us on Christmas Eve calling up and asking what we were doing and wondering if we could pick him up at the airport. At the moment we picked him up at the airport, I didn't know I missed him so much and wanted him home with us for Christmas. Now I know why. He came home to be with us and to stay with us. It was such a great week and we didn't do anything special by anyone else's account. Of course, we had to hit Krolls and The Bar. He and his brother left us in the dark as usual by having conversations where they were only quoting movie lines. They knew what they were talking about, even if the rest of us didn't. I loved that just watching my two boys laugh and enjoying each other. Hearing the hoops and hollers as he and his best friend ever, Derek Degrand played video games in the basement. I will never forget all of those sounds. They bring joy to my soul. I was able to go to the national championship with him in December. Just the two of us, hitting Steak n Shake and having cheese fries. What a great memory I hold, even dearer now. He thanked me for going with him, but I was the thankful one. Every time I think of him, my heart swells, he was such a good person. People tell us we did a great job raising him. No, it was no job at all, every baseball game, every hockey tournament, every movie, hell, every doctor's appointment , telling him to go to bed you've got school tomorrow, eat your dinner, clean your room. No job at all. We didn't raise that boy, raising a child means work and struggle. We didn't raise either of them. They came to us and we grew together. We were so lucky, we never had the struggles that a lot of parents have. They made good decisions because that's who they are. Everyone asks what they can do for us. This is what you can do, know you are better for knowing David. God knows I am. Know it's okay to enjoy life. Know the little things do matter. If you are in town, please feel free to come see us, a quite house is not what we need now, especially if you're hungry, plenty of food here... and no, I didn't cook any of it, so you are safe.

To his Colorado family, Ryne, Jen, Henry, Benny, Jack, Robin, Tim, Ian, Sara and Ellie, I have no words for the generosity and love you gave him. He loved you all so much and truly enjoyed being with you, especially the little ones. Seeing him with the boys helps knowing what a great dad he would have been. You got him and that's a treasure.

I feel compelled to let everyone know, he passed in his sleep. At this point it looks like he had a medical condition that we didn't know about prior. He had been gone a while when I found him. I thought he was sleeping in after watching hockey all night. Not unusual for my boy. I had a feeling something wasn't right, and I went to check on him. We do know he had been gone for quite a while prior to me checking on him. Long enough that I find comfort in the fact that checking on him sooner would not have made a difference. We should all be so lucky to be where we wanted to be and simply going to sleep. I love you my DT, my Dave o Dave. I am sure going to miss your laugh, your wit and that look when I say something stupid, but miss you never, because you are always with me." Love, Mom.

Survivors include his parents, Tom and Dawn Roberts, Green Bay, his brother, Alex Roberts and his fiancée, Hannah Geiger, Green Bay; his best friend, Derek Degrand; his maternal grandmother, Birdie Lunsford, Park Hills, MO; his paternal grandmother, Susan Roberts, Green Bay; aunts and uncles: Robin (Tim) Wahlers; Jay (Lori) Roberts; Holly (Dan) Bittner; Danny Lunsford and Shelly (Steve) Galovich; cousins and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Freddy Lunsford and his paternal grandfather, Bill Roberts, Jr.



Friends may call at the Proko-Wall Funeral Home, 1630 E. Mason St., from 4:00- 8:00 pm Tuesday, January 2. Visitation will continue on Wednesday at the funeral home, after 9:00 am until time of service at 11:00 am with Rev. Joshua Errer officiating. Burial in the Woodlawn Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to the Roberts family at www.prokowall.com. In lieu of floral expressions, a memorial fund has been established in David's name.

Any Badger apparel worn, would be appropriate and appreciated for these two days.