John N. Roberts

JENKINS TWP. — John N. Roberts, 88, a resident of Wesley Village, Jenkins Township, died Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, at Timber Ridge Nursing Home, Plains Township.

Mr. Roberts was born in Fairview Township, son of the late Harry and Ruth (Miller) Roberts and was a graduate of the class of 1946, GAR High School, Wilkes-Barre. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was later employed in the mining industry at Kidder Slope, Empire Colliery and, later, at Dorrance and Baltimore Collieries. Prior to his retirement due to disability in 1978, he had been a truck driver with Acme Markets for 24 years.

Mr. Roberts was a member of the Nebo Baptist Church, Nanticoke. He was also a member and past master of Lodge No. 61, Free and Accepted Masons, Bloomsburg, and Irem Shrine Center, Dallas. He was also a member and past president of the Wilkes-Barre Shrine Club. He had been a field agent for the Masonic Service Association at the VA Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, for four years. He was a member of Local 401 Teamsters Union and was a longtime member of the St. David's Society of Wyoming Valley.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Sinclair Roberts.

Surviving are his wife of more than 20 years, the Rev. Barbara Jane (Thomes) Roberts, at home; children and spouses, Craig Roberts (Florence Mazza), of Hanover Township, Nancy L. Roberts of Port Orange, Fla., Louis Roberts (Jean), of Wilkes-Barre, Jean L. Roberts, of Plains Township, David Roberts (Ann Marie), of Wilkes-Barre, Betty Lou Sartini (John), of Luzerne, John H. Roberts, of Wilkes-Barre, and Leslie McElwee (William), of Easton; sister, Viola Grimes, of Pittston; five grandchildren; several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.

Funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, from the H. Merritt Hughes Funeral Home Inc., a Golden Rule Funeral Home, 451 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, with the Rev. Chester F. Dudick Jr., pastor, Meade Street Baptist Church, Wilkes-Barre, officiating. Interment will be in the Alberts Cemetery, Mountain Top. Friends may call 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Lodge No. 61, F & A.M., will conduct Masonic service during the visitation. The family requests that flowers be omitted and that memorial donations in his name be made to Irem Shepherd's Unit, c/o Irem Shrine Center, Dallas, PA 18612.