Fred Roberson

1928 - 2022

Fred Roberson
July 11, 1928 - July 9, 2022
Tacoma, Washington - Fred's passion, determination, bold adventuresome and sharp business acumen enhanced Tacoma for more than half of century.
Fred Richard Roberson was born on July 11, 1928, at home in Bryn Mawr, Washington. His mother and father, Dolly and Richard Roberson called him their good luck baby, all eleven pounds of him. He joined his sister, Peg, and his brothers Bill and Jack.
His mother said of Fred, "If there's a will, there's a way," and Fred's willfulness led him through a most adventuresome and productive life. Here is some of what he wrote a number of years ago in telling his own story:
"I was born in Bryn Mawr, Washington with a mid-wife assisting. In grade school, my sister and one of my brothers were very good students, my other brother was very good at mechanics. I was told that I had hidden talents.
"There were four swimming beaches, and one beach had a high dive built by the WPA. There was an old ferry boat that small boats would use for tying up and kept there. We would steal the boats and use them and return them to the ferry boat. During the thirties boxing was very popular and we had a small gym in Bryn Mawr. Some of my friends were really good and really tough. I would box with a big kid called Dopey. He was not dopey at all. The Railway Express held an annual picnic at a lake park and Jack and I would box and Bill would collect 5 cents from the people watching. There was a movie house, and you could see a movie there for 11 cents or we could sneak in.
We had a pit bull named Bozo. He was friendly with humans, but he protected his domain, there was no doubt about it. Bryn Mawr was a wonderful place to grow up. I wish I could do it again.
"I never liked school and quit when I was 16 to join the Merchant Marines with the encouragement of my brother Bill who was already in the Merchant Marines. I left when I was 21. I went to work in my brother's tavern in Seattle and then went to Fairbanks, Alaska and drove a cab. I bought a uniform, so I would stand out. The Korean War started, and I went back in the Merchant Marines until I was drafted and they made me an acting platoon leader. I got to march the men around the base and the men enjoyed it. I was the only platoon leader that called out cadence. I had fun with it. The platoon soldiers were given an IQ Test, and I was sent to C/C counterintelligence corps. I flunked the personal interview and I was sent to France where I had a desk job.
"After I got out of the Army I went to work in a cabaret in Seattle and then got a job as a laundry truck driver for a few months. Then my brothers and I decided that we needed a tavern in Tacoma and named it the 'Tiki.' It had dancing and the patrons were mostly Black soldiers from Fort Lewis. It was a rowdy crowd, and it was in a rough neighborhood called Lower Broadway, so I had to break up fights all the time. I was regarded as a tough guy, so they avoided fighting with me. It was at the point I decided to get an education and so I went to Metropolitan Business College, and I paid tuition. I didn't know that I could have gone to the UW on the GI Bill. I was ignorant. I never liked school and figured that two years was enough. I went to school from 3P.M. to 6.P.M. and I worked in the tavern at night. The police, after one big fight put the tavern on off limits for the military and we could only serve civilians. We lost money and I decided to sell the tavern. No one was brave enough to buy it, so I dropped the price and someone bought it for $2,500. We had $20,000 in it.
"Selling real estate seemed like a good option so I became a realtor. Tacoma's economy was not good. I listed a large home, but the market was not good either. The lady that owned the house sold it to me for no down payment. It was a three- story house and I split it up into eight small apartments. Arlene, Laura and I lived in it for six or seven years and had free rent and I fell in love with real estate. With help from my brothers, we added a small building in front of the house. All this time I was working in a plywood plant, and I hated it. I worked there for seven years.
"Thanks to a bails bondsman named Mr. Baker, I got my first loan on the first apartment building. Bill Brazier, a banker, made me a loan on ten acres and I built another apartment. Thanks to other bankers over the years, I was able to do what I wanted. I built apartments and other buildings for twenty years, but wanted more adventuresome projects. I became interested in restoration and purchased the Harmon Building for $700.000. It was empty and filled with rats. It took five years to sand blast the wood columns, add 56 loft apartments, offices, retail, and a two-story parking garage. We reused a lot of the building's materials. It was difficult at the time to find carpenters, so I had to hire ex-cons who were transitioning out of prison in a half-way house program. It was not easy to manage them, but it all worked out. I believe your heart should be in the projects whenever you start one and restoration was what most attracted me. I started buying old buildings downtown and the last major project was the National Guard Armory. I felt that special building should be for the community to enjoy and it is as a dynamic cultural venue."
Fred was awarded for his revitalization of downtown Tacoma by both the Tacoma Historical Society and the Landmark Commission. Fred felt that he had accomplished a lot and was happy and satisfied. He just loved Tacoma.
Fred left this world eight days after a stroke, and he left on his own terms. Anne, his wife, Laura, his granddaughter, Julia, and his Caregiver, Julia were with him. We told him we were fine and it was ok for him to go. Nope, he didn't listen. He picked his own time. It was July 9th, 2022, at 3:30 in the afternoon.
His first wife, Arlene, his brothers, Bill and Jack and his sister, Peg predeceased him. Fred is survived by his wife, Anne, his daughter, Laura and her children Christian, Taylor, James and Julia. Anne's daughter Cynthia, and son, Mat. Anne's grandchildren, Sophie and Michael and Megan. And his nieces and nephews, Dick, Bill, Bob, Sheila Linda, Jim, Mark, John and Pam and her brother Bill and their families.
Fred's legacy is the deep love he shared with his family and the considerable contributions he made to Tacoma's growth and enhanced character as a developer, builder, community and arts supporter.