Mourners packed the pews at New Hope Baptist Church on Friday, remembering the man who helped build the church and so much more in the city that civic leader Bill Roberts adopted and fell in love with.
Roberts, the son of Georgia storekeepers, died of cancer Dec. 10. He was 69.
Willful even as a tot, he broke his leg almost as soon as he learned to walk, an incident his family recollected as a harbinger of the unflagging aggressiveness that characterized his career.
“He didn’t believe in quitting,” said his nephew, Billy Johnson. “Didn’t know what quitting meant.”
Roberts’ began his civic career in Denver as city recreation director and became a specialist with the city’s commission on community relations. At his service, former Mayor Wellington Webb described Roberts as “old school” and “a warrior for our community.”
Since 1972, Roberts had lived in Park Hill, a famously diverse neighborhood he loved fiercely. He was the first politician to mount an energetic campaign to replace the urban Stapleton International Airport.
In 1971, Roberts became the second African-American elected to the City Council, hard on the heels of his longtime friend Elvin Caldwell. He remained on the council for 19 years, serving one term as president.
He resigned to serve stints as deputy mayor and director of public works.
He also served as president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation, which erected the City Park statue of King, financed in part with money Roberts contributed after taking out a second mortgage on his home.
He owned Roberts Construction Co. Its contracts included such Park Hill landmarks as New Hope Baptist Church and Shorter AME Church. Roberts and his siblings established the Roberts Foundation, a nonprofit that contributes about $30,000 annually to scholarships and community organizations.
Roberts became an energetic advocate for minority and small businesses, including his brother’s Empire Construction Co., which worked on Invesco Field and Coors Stadium.
Roberts’ network of friends extended from flea market vendors to Washington politicians. Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar sent a tribute read at the funeral, and Webb recalled attending President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration with Roberts.
His sister, Dr. Jayne Roberts-Stinson, recalled that her brother originally meant to go into medicine, not politics.
Roberts was in college when he discovered that his little sister’s idea of a glamorous career involved being a waitress at a posh Atlanta cafe.
Because his family couldn’t afford both her college tuition and his medical school expenses, Bill Roberts yielded his medical career, one of the few dreams he relinquished, said longtime friend Bob Willis, president of the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce.
“He did the things he did because he had an idea on how we ought to live,” Willis said.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
