ROBERTS, Lee F. - b. February 7, 1870 - d. July 3, 1957

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Howard Courant Citizen
Thursday, July 11, 1957

Memorial services were held for Lee F. Roberts, a citizen of Howard all of his life, at the Moon Chapel in Howard, at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, July 6, 1957, the Rev. John Lambert, pastor of the Howard Church of the Nazarene, being in charge.  Music was furnished by Mrs. Lambert, with Mrs. Irving Anderson accompanist.  The casket bearers wre members of the Howard IOOF lodge, of which he had been a member for many years.  Concluding services and burial were at Grace Lawn cemetery, Howard, Kansas, with full honors by the local IOOF lodge.

The following sketch of his life was read by the minister at the service at the chapel:

Lee F. Roberts was born February 7, 1870, on a farm two miles west of Howard, Kansas, near Elk river and departed this life at 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 3, 1957 at Howard, Kansas, his old hometown, which he loved so well.  He was the son of Eldrick S. and Zerelda E. Roberts.  He leaves to mourn his passing his son, Jesse L. Roberts, and wife, Marie, of Howard; a daughter, Goldie L. Redmond, and husband, Mead, of Kansas City, Missouri; one sister, Mary J. McDaniel, of Tonkawa, Oklahoma; one brother, Lark Roberts, also of Tonkawa, Oklahoma; one granddaughter, Mrs. Celia Lee Borberg; two great grandsons, Robert M. Borberg and Charles Fredrick Borberg, of Kansas City, Missouri; two great granddaughters, Roberts Lee Wilkes and Claudia Marie Wilkes, of Howard, Kansas and a large number of warm, close friends, which Lee appreciated, as he often remarked, "It is great to have friends when one is young, but indeed it is still more so when you are getting old."

Lee F. Roberts was "The Pioneer" in the truest sense of the word, being the oldest native born person in Elk County, Kansas.  The farm where Lee was born is located two miles west of Howard, known as the Bill Elliott place.  The shelter of the house in which he was born and lived for a number of years as a child was of logs.  He lived on the farm until the spring of 1895, when he moved to Howard, making it his home.

When we speak of "pioneers," such as Lee Roberts, we mean one of those staunch early settlers, opening a way for others, possessed with a skill, this skill being the result of earning his own way at an early age in life, in a difficult world, and partly a heritage of his fierce love for freedom and general proficiency.

"Why did he leave?"  The pattern of our lives is charted, with its series of experiences of body and of the the mind which make up our history from birth to death.  We like to think that God's omnipotent power demanded a skilled workman, as Lee was selected to fill the requirement.  He will fill it well, for he has the management of his many qualities, and his reputation was always good.  (There are a couple of sentences here that are unreadable)  Lee's philisophy was "Not how old," but rather "How you are old," and your reaction that counts and there is no cure for birth and death, save to enjoy the interval.  Our friend, Lee, accepted life as a real counsellor.  He will be greatly missed.

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There is also more information about him in the Elk County History Book.