Guy T. Roberts

1931 - 2022

Guy T. Roberts
March 3, 1931 - June 15, 2022
Tom was born in Hollywood, CA, son of Ruth Seely and Guy T. Roberts, Sr., but was raised in Oakland. He received an MFA from UC Berkeley and served in the US Army at the Pentagon from 1953-1954.
Tom's long-time partner was artist and educator, Ralph DuCasse with whom he shared a beautiful Victorian in the Lower Pacific Heights/Laurel Village district of San Francisco.
Tom was a career artist and designer. He was also an actor having performed in Italy and Greece with The American School in Switzerland, as well as in SF Bay Area theaters - most notably, in a one-man performance of Jay Presson Allen's play, Tru. Tom was famous among friends for his cooking and threw many memorable dinner parties.
In the 1960's and early 1970's Tom started his own graphic design business. Then in the mid-1970's, he joined Winfield Design Associates as a designer for this high-end wall-covering company based in San Francisco. But Tom's true love was designing and building miniature room settings. These miniatures are a true 1-inch equals 1 foot in scale. Tom began doing miniatures with his father, but later Tom branched off on his own. Over the years, they built over 45 pieces. He is considered one of the best miniature designers/builders in America. Besides having been in the Carole & Barry Kaye Museum of Miniatures in Los Angeles, his works can currently be seen in museums in Kansas City, MO, Maysville, KY. and Tampa, FL. In the fall of 1987, the National Geographic Society held an exhibition in Washington, DC called, "Small Wonders: The Delightful World of Miniatures". It exhibited works by the top miniature builders in America. Of the 43 pieces shown, 8 of them were by Tom Roberts and his father.
In 2011 he retired to Oakland after, unfortunately, being financially abused by a trusted friend - something that neither Tom nor many of his friends ever understood or reconciled. In his final years, he moved to a lovely apartment at The Waters Edge Lodge in Alameda. His final days were at The Elders Inn in Alameda where he was lovingly cared for by the exceptional staff and the wonderful people of Continuum Hospice.
He is survived by his Ohio cousins, Joanne Gold and Patricia Leech and their families; cousins Marilyn Barton of Canoga Park, CA; Betty Roberts of Escondido, CA and Jim Walker of Oakland, and his daughter-in-law, Monique Tomasovich of Sonora, California as well as a host of long-time friends. A memorial celebration of Tom will take place at a later date.