Obituary of W. G. Roberts

W.G. “Bill” Roberts, 86, retired Director of Technical Publications at Lockheed Martin, passed away on October 24, 2019.Bill Roberts was born on April 9, 1933 in Rosebud, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge reservation where his father served as superintendent for the U.S. Dept. of Interior. After living in South Dakota as a child, he moved with his family to Muskogee, OK where he attended Central High School and met his future wife, Ruth Ann Harrison. Later, while attending Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, he married Ruth Ann on November 26, 1953 after his graduation. The next year, the first of their four children was born.The young family then moved to Amarillo, TX where Bill was a civilian jet aircraft mechanic at Amarillo Air Force Base, the first air force all-jet mechanic-training base in the nation. In Amarillo, they welcomed their second child. After two years, as that opportunity faded, he was delighted to land a job as a technical writer in Fort Worth at Convair, later becoming General Dynamics, and today Lockheed Martin. During his tenure there, he and Ruth Ann had two more children and he earned an MBA degree from TCU. He spent 35 years at the company before retiring, rising to the title of Director of Technical Publications.Last year, on his 85th birthday, he received a kind letter from former Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, for his service in helping win the “Cold War” in the production of logistical support publications for U.S. fighting aircraft during his tenure.Bill and the love of his life, Ruth Ann, were married nearly 66 years and lived in Burleson since 1976. He was a long-time member of St. Ann Catholic Church there. His most passionate interests besides his wife and children were twofold; automobiles and music. He remained intimately informed of automotive engineering progress his entire life and loved to chat about cars, old and new. Musically, he was most enamored with acoustic guitar genres. He amassed a sizeable collection of instruments, often passing them down to his children and grandchildren. Several of them became accomplished musicians and music lovers themselves. He and Ruth Ann played music together regularly and treated lucky visitors to occasional private performances.He will be greatly missed.Survivors: Wife, Ruth Ann; two daughters, Mary Beth of Houston and Stacey of Flower Mound, and two sons, Bill of Aledo and Bob of McKinney; seven grandchildren; and two great grandchildren.