Thomas Lee Roberts

Tom Roberts of Maumee Ohio died at 97-years-old on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 - two years after his wife Charlotte, better known as "Short", whom he adored.

He passed the day before their 78th wedding anniversary.

The couple met in Lima in the 1940s working at the ice cream manufacturing plant that would later furnish their children and nieces and nephew with unlimited frozen treats.

As Short recounted at their 60th wedding anniversary, their worlds collided in the freezer. "We warmed it up," she giggled.

After that, the only time they'd spend apart would be Tom's 13-month service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, when he worked on a ship that swept for mines at harbors in the Aleutian Islands.

Just two months after returning stateside, Short and Tom got married. They had two daughters and they shared a beautiful life of boating adventures, family gatherings, close friendships with people from around the world and, of course, eating ice cream.

Tom was a meat and potatoes and Arby's guy but was still proud of his grandchildren, despite their propensity to eat vegetables. He was curious about their differences and liked to keep up with all their latest gadgets and, as they got older, their accomplishments.

Tom was preceded in death by his wife and two daughters, Becky Lynn Carr (husband David) and Susan Roberts-McGlade (husband Eric), his brother Dick (June) Roberts and nephew Jerry Roberts. He is survived by grandchildren Alison (Brian) Crowe, Melanie (John) Orzechowski, Todd (Leigh) Carr, and Caitlin Roberts McGlade as well as great-grandson Griffin Orzechowski. He is also survived by his nieces Jill (John) Robinson and Gay (Chuck) Anderson.

The family will commit Tom and Short's ashes at 11 a.m. at the Pike Run Cemetery in Gomer Ohio on Oct. 18. Reverend Clint Tolbert will preside.