The youngest son of Colonel Claudius Henry Mastin (Bob) Roberts and Lida Hollister Adams, Tom spent his youth on the East Coast, enjoying summers at Adamsfort near Springfield, N.H., and during his adulthood, he frequently summered at the family cottage at West Point, ME.
Diagnosed with diabetes at age 15, he was treated at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. He graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., in 1953 at the age of 16 and that summer traveled to Japan. The following fall he enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he joined the Theta Xi fraternity and the swim team. He completed a year at M.I.T. , then set about finding his own path with a job selling books.
He enrolled at Syracuse University where he completed a B.S. in mathematics and statistics in 1960. He earned an M.B.A. at the University of Michigan in 1964. Tom was employed by the U of M at the Bureau of Industrial Relations until 1968, when he purchased Master- Co Press, Inc. He worked as an independent small business owner publishing and distributing management books for the remainder of his career. He was a member of the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development, earning several awards for his service.
In retirement, he mentored University of Michigan athletes, supported scholarship students in the Musical Theater program, served as an alumni adviser for the Theta Xi fraternity, and participated in the University Hospital’s Amputee and Diabetes support groups. He also served as an Amputee Peer Visitor at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration. He was a student recruiter for M.I.T. for over 25 years, a board member of the Manchester Community Resource Center, a member of the Ann Arbor Chapter of Mensa, and a member of MacTechnics computer group. He was a 50-year member of the Sports Car Club of America.
He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Catherine McFarland Roberts; his daughter, Jessica Crawford Roberts; his sister, Patricia Naquib (Chicago, Ill.); his brother, Samuel Adams Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa.); his nephew, Daniel Roberts (Winterset, N.J.) and Daniel’s two sons, Austin and Christian Roberts.
Memorial services will be held on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, at 1 p.m. at Bethel United Church of Christ, 10425 Bethel Church Road, Manchester, MI 48158. Phone (734) 429-8530.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to: Deck House School, 124 Deck House Road, Edgecomb, ME 04556.
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