William Roberts, Jr.
January 7, 1947 — June 14, 2016
William John Roberts, Jr.
William (Bill) John Roberts, Jr., age 69, of Orem, passed away Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Payson, Utah. He was born January 7, 1947, in Logan, Utah, to William John Roberts, Sr., and Lydia Schumann Roberts, the fifth of eight children. He married Janalee Firth on September 12,1966 in the Logan Utah Temple, and had three children. They were later divorced. He married Carolyn Cope Dixon on April 10, 1993, in the Provo Utah Temple.
Bill grew up in Tremonton, Utah, spending his summers working hard on the family dry farm in Blue Creek, Utah. He graduated from LDS seminary, Bear River High School, and received a B.S. from Utah State University in Math Education and an M.A. from Brigham Young University in Math. An active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bill faithfully served as ward and stake clerk for more than three decades. He served a mission at the Provo Deseret Industries teaching English. At the Mount Timpanogos Temple, he served in the baptistry and as an ordinance worker.
Bill taught math at Bear River Junior High, Bear River High, and Lehi Junior High. He was awarded Outstanding Teacher of Mathematics by Utah Council of Teachers of Mathematics and Box Elder School District. He was also a groundskeeper at the Bothwell Cemetery. Bill had an uncommon gift of meeting with people in quiet, personal settings. Coupled with his gift of numbers and attention to detail, he exceled at bookkeeping, and helped hundreds of people one-on-one with their taxes.
Bill loved following basketball and football, and refereed basketball for several years. He loved fishing, beautifying his yard with flowers, and visiting farmer’s markets. He also loved preserving fruit and sharing it with his grandchildren.
Bill is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and children Jenafer (Vincent) Hunt of Salem, Utah; Carrie (Mel) Curtis of Nibley, Utah; Raegan Roberts of Logan, Utah; Annette (Eric) Mulkay of Spring,Texas; Camille (Darin) Rollins of Lehi, Utah; Bryan (Deborah) Dixon of Las Vegas, Nevada; Karen (Lance) Jensen of Lehi, Utah; Ilene (Calvin) Holt of Enterprise, Utah; Paul Dixon of North Salt Lake, Utah; and 24 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, two siblings, Florence Deakin and LaMoyne Roberts, and two brothers-in-law, Duane Deakin and Terry Orwin.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 25, 2016 at the Cherry Hill 9th Ward building, located at 135 East 2000 South, in Orem, Utah, at 1:00 p.m. Friends and family may call Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State Street, Orem, or Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the church before the funeral. Interment will be at the Payson City Cemetery.