Alfred E. Roberts Jr.

1930 - 2017

CONCORD - Al Roberts died peacefully on March 25, 2017, at The Birches of Concord.

He was born in 1930 to Margaret (Burns) Roberts and Alfred E. Roberts in Brooklyn, N.Y. Al grew up in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, attending parochial schools, and graduated from Saint Francis Prep in 1948.

After graduation, he joined The Redemptorists as a brother where he served in Baltimore, Md., Philadelphia, and Ephrata, Pa. When he decided the religious life was not for him, he moved back to Brooklyn and then joined the Army, where he served in Alabama for two years. It was there he met his lifelong friend, Dr. John Atkinson, who would invite Al home with him on leave and introduced him to his family and friends and eventually persuaded Al to attend LSU after the service. While Al attended LSU, he taught at Our Lady of Mercy School in Baton Rouge.

During his trips back to Brooklyn while attending LSU, Al fell in love with his first wife, Margaret Kelleher. They married a year before he graduated and she moved to Louisiana and worked as a nurse for the LSU football team. All three of their daughters were born in Baton Rouge.

After graduation, Al worked as an executive for many years for Blue Cross, which moved him to New Jersey from 1968 to 1970, then back to Baton Rouge, then New Orleans, until in 1976, he decided to follow his lifelong dream of living in New England and moved his family to Franklin, where he started work with Northeast Delta Dental not long after the Concord office opened. Al thoroughly enjoyed his career as a marketing executive and the many friends he made over those years.

Al's beloved wife, Margie, passed away in 1985. A couple of years later, Al met and married his second wife, Simone Bourgeois. After Al's retirement, they lived in Wells, Maine, where they owned an art gallery together. Al painted and Simone framed. They spent their winters in Hutchinson Island, Fla., where they had many cherished friendships. After Simone's passing in 2013, Al continued to go to Florida in the winters until 2015 when he moved back to New Hampshire to be near his family.

Al was an artist all his life. He painted in oil and watercolor. His paintings hang in homes from Florida to Maine. Al was also a 12-year survivor of pancreatic cancer.

Al was predeceased by his beloved wives, Margie and Simone; his parents; his brothers, Father James Roberts and Brother William Roberts.

He is survived by his daughters, Maureen Roberts Rowley,Elizabeth Roberts, and Eileen Palazzolo and her husband, Fred; four grandchildren, Catherine Schurman and her husband, Kevin, Justin Mills, Michael Palazzolo, and Joseph Palazzolo; and three great-grandchildren, Gunnar, Levi, and Adeline Schurman. Al is also survived by his cousin, Janet Cianci, and her husband, Salvatore.

Al had a great zest for life and a wonderful sense of humor and will be forever missed by his loving family and his many friends.
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SERVICES: Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, March 30, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Bennett Funeral Home, 209 North Main Street, Concord, N.H. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, March 31, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 180 Loudon Road, Concord, at 11 a.m.

Donations may be made in Al's memory to the Alzheimer's Association, 5 Bedford Farms Drive, No.. 501, Bedford, NH 03110.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Bennett Funeral Home of Concord.

Messages of condolence may be offered at www.bennettfuneral.com.