Roberts, Judge Bill 1932-2025 Overland Park, Kan.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of J. W. “Bill” Roberts on Jan. 20, 2025. He was 92. He was known as “Bill”, “Judge”, or “Grandpa Bill”. He served as a lawyer and judge in St. Joseph for more than 40 years. He considered the law a noble profession and believed that everyone deserved his best effort, justice, and fairness.

Bill was born in St. Joseph on Sept. 26, 1932. He attended St. Joseph Central High School and graduated from Jefferson City, Missouri, High School in 1950. Bill attended the University of Missouri where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, graduating in 1954. He then attended the University of Missouri Law School in 1957. In 1959 Roberts served as the chief editor of the Missouri Law Review and was top student in his graduating class.

Bill returned to St. Joseph in 1959 to practice law and served as partner at Strop, Roberts, Thomas, and Burns, specializing in probate and real estate law. He married Dr. Phyllis Grant in October 1964 and had three children, Richard, Karen, and Mark, prior to his divorce in 1976. In 1988 Bill was elected as a Circuit Court Judge (5th Circuit, Division 4), serving two terms until his retirement in 2000.

Bill was an active member of the community serving as president of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce (1987), he was a Shriner, and member of the St. Joseph East Rotary. He contributed his time and support to Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, the YWCA women’s shelter, and was a member of the Boy Scouts Tribe of Mic-o-Say with the apt moniker “Big Talking Bear.” He also had a lifelong and avid interest in the arts, music, theater, and performing, appearing in several productions including “Harvey” at the Missouri Theater.

Everyone who knew him experienced his love of a good joke or story, his abundant laugh, his love of books and reading, and his encyclopedic knowledge of history, the law, and trivia. He will be missed.

Bill is preceded in death by his ex-wife, Dr. Phyllis G. Roberts; his parents, Helen and Raymond A. Roberts.

He is survived by his brother, Dr. Richard A. Roberts, Bowling Green, Kentucky; his three children, Dr. Richard Roberts, South Pasadena, California, Dr. Karen Roberts, Shawnee, Kansas, and Mark Roberts, Denver, Colorado; and his eight grandchildren.

A private family burial will take place at the Mt. Olivet Cemetery, on Lovers Lane. A memorial lunch for Bill will be held at Barbosa’s Mexican restaurant on Saturday, June 21, 2025. Please contact Rich Roberts (mrnadisplay@gmail.com) for details. As published in the St. Joseph News-Press.