Richard N. (Jr.) Roberts

Richard N. Roberts, Jr passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 15th, 2025.  Dick is survived by his wife of 34 years, Kate Remington Roberts, his son Sam, his elder sister Sylvia Willard, his younger sister Kathy Keene, nieces and nephews Laurelie, Annabelle Elizabeth, Andrew, Tim and Jonathan. Other surviving family members include his brothers-in-law Dan Remington, Bert Willard and Tom Keene and his sister-in-law Wanda Remington.

Dick grew up in Springfield, Vermont. He attended Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio,  He majored in history, but his dream was to be in radio. He was a disc jockey at WKNT in Kent, Ohio, as well as a DJ at WABK in Gardiner Maine before landing at Vermont Public Radio, and later WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield, Connecticut.  Most recently, Dick and Kate relocated to Bend, Oregon to be near Sam.

Through his long career in radio, Dick met and interviewed hundreds of interesting people including Jane Fonda, members of The Eagles, Howard Dean, Bernie Sanders and Ken Burns.

Dick’s wide-ranging interests included photography, audio (covering the walls of his bedroom with blankets in high school to make a studio)  and astronomy.  He was extremely proud of Springfield’s annual international amateur telescope building Stellafane Convention.

An accomplished musician, Dick played guitar and banjo with The Next of Kin, a bluegrass group he formed with college friends in the 1960’s, an era  Dick referred to as “The Great Folk Scare.”

Dick and Kate shared a passion for Formula 1, attending the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal for many years. They also loved going to the Lime Rock Historic Races in Lakeville, Connecticut, with fellow “petrol heads” Dan and Wanda. 

A life-long Boston Red Sox fan, with all the superstitions that brings, Dick was thrilled when they won the World Series in 2004, but never wore his commemorative T-shirt, fearing that would jinx their following seasons. 

Dick’s patience was endless. One of his tasks while at Vermont Public Radio was taking calls from listeners, and Dick said he knew he’d be in for a lengthy conversation when the first word the caller said was, “Yes…”

 Dick’s wry sense of humor kept everyone who spent time with him laughing, often for days afterwards, and that’s what we’ll miss the most. 

As Dick was fond of saying, quoting Edward R. Murrow, “Good night, and good luck.”

A memorial for Dick is planned for spring. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the Alzheimer’s Association.

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