John Thomas Roberts was born in Rougemount, North Carolina on January 25, 1929 to the late Garland and Esther Roberts.  He was raised in the Bahama, North Carolina area with his two brothers and three sisters. He departed this life on April 4, 2014. John attended Little River High School and later graduated from heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) trade school. He married Dora Phelps in 1963 and to this union he brought two daughters from a previous marriage. John and Dora later had two daughters.  John served in the US Army during the years of the Korean War from 1954 â?? 1957. He moved to New York in the 1950s where he worked as a refrigeration engineer for 47 years for Columbia University. He also worked for about 10 years in a similar capacity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In his spare time, John loved to spend time with family and friends or fishing, boating and working outdoors or on one of his many projects around the house. He was married to Dora just over 50 years. He and Dora have been members of Harvest Baptist Church for the last 10 years of his life, after moving their membership from Convent Avenue Baptist Church in New York. John is survived by his devoted wife, Dora; four daughters: Gloria Ann (Prince) Oliver, Daria Patricia (Clement) Peace, Tracy Roberts and Angela Roberts; two siblings, Weldon Van (Flora) Roberts, Barbara Mebane, one sister-in-law, Dorothy Roberts, four grandchildren: Tony (Veronica) Peace, Amy (Wykeum) Gilyard, Andrea (Kevin) Johnson, and Rochelle Peace, 9 great-grandchildren, one godson, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and close family friends. John was preceded in death by his parents, three of his siblings Blanche Stover, James Roberts and Celeste Roberts and many aunts, uncles and cousins.