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It is with great regret and
sorrow that I must notify you of the death of our classmate, Howard H. Roberts,
Jr., on
August 11, 2025, in Glyndon, MD.
Howie is survived by his
wife, Charlotte; their sons, Patrick and his wife Stacy, and Timothy and his
wife Nancy; their grandchildren, Ian, Samantha, William, Jack, and Laura; and
their great grandchildren, Henley, Stetson, and Goldie.
Howie's funeral is
scheduled at 1:30 PM on Friday, May 22, 2026, at the Leavenworth National
Cemetery, 150 Muncie Road, Leavenworth, KS 66048.
Condolences may be sent to
Charlotte at 3201 Tufton Avenue, Reisterstown, MD 21136-5534.
In lieu of flowers, the
family has requested that donations in Howie's memory be sent to Mid-Atlantic
Jack Russell Rescue, Inc., c/o Meg Hanson, 18131 Kitchen House Court,
Germantown, MD 20874.
Well done, Howie. Be
thou at peace.
Remembrances:
Class Memorial Pages/G-1 Howie Roberts.pdf
Obituaries:
 Howard H Roberts JR, (Howie to his friends and classmates), passed away
peacefully on August 11th, 2025, at his home in, Glyndon MD. He was
85 years old. Howard Harry Roberts Jr was born on October 28th, 1939,
in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee to Howard Harry Roberts Sr., and Pauline
(Henderson) Roberts. Howard was preceded in death by his younger brother Jim
Roberts. Howard grew up in Birmingham Alabama as the son of a steel worker. When
he was eleven years old, he sent a post card to the United States Military
Academy asking for a catalog because he wanted to be a cadet. He taped a dime to
the card to cover the return postage. One of the admissions officers at West
Point sent Howard a catalog and a note that read “Howard, we will see you in
seven years.” He also returned his
dime. After a productive four years at West End High School in Birmingham,
Howard, good on his word, received an appointment to West Point and became a
member of the class of 1961. At West Point, he excelled. He graduated 6th
in a class of 540 with a Bachelor of Sciences degree.
Other honors included selection as the Outstanding Scholar-Athlete in the
class of ’61, and Captain of the track team.
Howard served in the Army from 1961-1981 in a series of
highly competitive assignments from the rice paddies of Vietnam to the White
House. He was promoted to the rank of full Colonel 3 years before his
contemporaries. In addition to serving in the White House during the Nixon
administration, He commanded a combat engineering battalion in Germany and
worked at NATO where he advised the US Ambassador to NATO on the many sensitive
issues of the time. Along the way,
he attended and received two master's degrees from Princeton University and was
a visiting fellow at the Center of International Studies at Princeton. Notable
military honors include Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star with two Oak leaf
Clusters, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army
Commendation Medal, Senior Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, and various other
service medals.
After retiring from the Army, Howard worked in public
transit in various capacities for more than 30 years. Howard went to work as the
Vice President of Finance and Administration for the New York Transit Authority,
and then the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Surface Transit at
NYTA. From there after a three-year stint as a Vice President and Retail Banking
Director at Citibank, he became the Deputy General Manager at the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), a position he held for nine years.
Howard was the President of the New York Transit Authority for 2 ½ years, before
he moved into transportation consulting and started his consulting firm, Harrier
Inc.
Howard married the love of his life, Charlotte (Cannon) on
Sept 17th, 1963. Howard and Charlotte were married for 62 years and
raised two sons, Patrick and Timothy. During his army career, the family moved
15 times in 20 years! No small feat. Despite the constant moving, Howard and
Charlotte somehow always made “home” seem like a real home to the boys. After
his military career they owned a beautiful home in Chappaqua, NY, and then later
in Washington’s Crossing, PA.
Howard and Charlotte were dog lovers. Howard loved his dogs
more than most people outside of his immediate family.
Butler, his Jack Russel Terrier, was
loyally by his side until the very end. Howard enjoyed horseback riding, he was
a member of the Fort Leavenworth Hunt Club, during his last assignment in the
Army, and continued to ride well into his 70’s. He was an avid bird and duck
hunter as well, something he loved to do with his two sons. He was also an
accomplished rock climber. Howard and Tim
began climbing together in the Shawangunk mountains in the early 80’s, Patrick
started climbing with them as well when he was home from school. Howard was
still climbing rocks into his late 60’s. An avid runner, he notable ran the
Boston Marathon at the age of 57! Howard had a deep sense of humor and was
insanely competitive! He was so competitive with his boys during family card
games and physical games of “Rock Paper Scissors” that Patrick and Tim
sarcastically started calling him “Big Harry” He showed his two boys no mercy!
His grandchildren were another matter. He was fiercely loyal to them. He never
missed any school events that he was available to attend. He was always ready
with a kind note or an instructive email to encourage and support them. His
grandchildren were his greatest gift.
Howard is survived by his wife, Charlotte, his son’s
Patrick (Stacy) Roberts, and Tim (Nancy) Roberts, and grandchildren, Ian,
Samantha, Jack (Patrick and Stacy), and Will and Laura (Tim and Nancy) and great
grandchildren, Henley, Stetson, and Goldie.
A memorial service will be held in the Spring at the
Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth Kansas.
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