William F. Roberts Jr.

ROBERTS William F. Roberts, Jr. (Bill), of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, formerly of Westport CT and Redding CT and husband of Barbara Roberts died Friday August 8, 2008 while vacationing in Highlands Falls, North Carolina. He was 83. In addition to his devoted wife Barbara, Bill is survived by his children, seven grandchildren, and three great grandchildren : Cathy Terry and her husband Chip of Green Valley Arizona, their daughter Amy, her husband Sean and their three children, Aidan, Gavin, and Dillon; Sue Roberts of Westport Connecticut; William F. Roberts III (Tres) and his wife Diane of Farmington Hills Michigan and William F. Roberts IV (Chad) and Kyle Kreason; Jeff Roberts of Redding Connecticut and his three sons, Jason, Justin and Jonathan; Greg Roberts and his wife Ann of Black Rock, Connecticut and their son William; and two stepsons Chris Withers of Denver Colorado and Bryon Withers of San Francisco. Bill was a proud World War II veteran, having served as a Marine in the Pacific theatre in China, Okinawa and other islands, and was awarded a Purple Heart. He was a visionary in the jewelry industry and founded the Independent Jeweler's Organization in 1970 in Westport, the largest independent buying group for retail jewelers. Bill had a keen zest for life and was an avid sailor and world traveler. He twice served as a volunteer in the Israeli Army repairing and servicing Merkava tanks. Golf was his love and he was so excited to shoot his age at 82 last year and again a couple of days before his sudden death. In addition to his many outside interests, Bill found time to be a volunteer at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida upon his retirement. He will be missed by many friends and former colleagues. A funeral mass will be held at 11am on Wednesday August 27, 2008 at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Ponte Vedra, Florida. An additional memorial service will be held at 2pm on Friday September 12, 2008 in Westport Connecticut at Saugatuck Congregational Church, 245 Post Road East ( www.saugatuckchurch.org) . In lieu of flowers, contributions in his honor may be made to his favorite charities, the Alzheimers Association ( www.alz.org) or The Smile Train ( www.smiletrain.org) . Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com