John Robert Roberts

   John Robert Roberts died on April 28, 2026 at Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota surrounded by his loved ones.

   John was born May 12, 1945 in Hartley, Iowa to Arlan Wayne and Myrle Mildred (Kotrba) Roberts. He grew up on a farm outside of Royal, Iowa with his parents and three sisters.. He attended school in Royal and graduated from Royal High School in 1963. Following his graduation from high school, John enlisted in the U.S. Navy. While in the Navy he worked in naval intelligence. During his time in the Navy, John was stationed in Hawaii. It was while he was stationed in Hawaii that John met his wife and the mother of his children, Yvonne. Upon leaving the service, John returned to Iowa bringing his family with him. He resumed farming with his father, Arlan, and also worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. When Northwestern Bell moved their Spencer office to Utah, John, at the urging of his father, remained in Royal working on the family farm. John and his father also had a custom trucking company, Roberts & Roberts Trucking. John worked for several companies over the years before working for the U.S. Postal Service. John worked at the Spencer Post Office for years before becoming a Postmaster. He served as the Postmaster in Fostoria and Sutherland before his final post in Royal, from which he retired.

   John married Yvonne Borge on December 15, 1971. To this union they had five children: Debra Ann, Marchelle Marie, Elliot John, Liliana Kuulei, and an infant daughter who died. They raised their children in Royal. John and Yvonne shared many loving years until her passing in December 2011. John loved his family and spent as much time with them and their families as possible even though they lived hours away from him. He enjoyed watching his children participate in sports and activities and supported his grandchildren in their activities also.

   John was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church in Royal. He helped build the church in 1972. John’s faith was an important part of his life. His involvement in church activities were many-fold: church choir; bell choir; usher; board member; and lay leader.

   John was a long time member of the Clay Central and Clay Central-Everly School Boards. John was able to present each of his children their high school diplomas during his school board tenure.

   John enjoyed many different activities during his life. At one point, John decided that he would like to become an auctioneer, so he went to auctioneer school and became one. He was an avid bowler, bowling in couples’ league with his wife, Yvonne, and a men’s league with his father Arlan. He loved playing cards. He and Yvonne would often attend card parties. He also taught his children to play cards and there were often lively 500 games when the family would get together. He loved to play cribbage and would teach anyone willing to play with him. While he didn’t get a lot of opportunities to do so, John loved dancing and would dance with anyone willing. There are many happy memories of him dancing with his grandchildren, either holding them or spinning them around. All of his daughters cherish the memory of dancing with him at their weddings. In order to keep from crying, he cracked jokes with them while they were dancing.

   Being a lifelong member of the Royal Community, John was involved in nearly every organization in town. He was a proud member of the local American Legion and was saddened when his health made him unable to put up the flags for Memorial Day, something he had done for over 55 years.

   John married Cathryn Smith on October 18, 2025. They met through church and shared faith. Their years together were filled with many different activities, including: going to Branson on a bus (which was hilarious to listen to John talk about the bus ride and accommodations); gardening (way too many tomatoes); sharing their love of cars; but, most importantly of all, spending time with their family and loved ones. They originally resided together on the family farm outside of Royal until moving to Spencer in December 2025.

   John is survived by his wife, Cathryn; his children: Debra (Greg) Kingery of Spencer, Iowa; Marchelle (Curtis) Denker of Sioux City, Iowa; Elliot (Jennifer) Roberts of Bennington, Nebraska; and Liliana Karaus (Kirk Wright) of Bennington, Nebraska; his grandchildren: Danielle (Cat) Feddersen, Delaney Bailey (Brinkley Braden), Taylor Kingery, Nathaniel Kingery, Paige (Ty) DeRocher, Jacob Denker, Maren Roberts, Quinn Roberts, Owen Karaus, Gavin Wright, and Olivia Karaus; his great grandchildren: Winnifred Bailey, Harrison Bailey, Theodore DeRocher, and Adalynn DeRocher; his step-daughter, Marlo (Kirby) Clark; and step-granchildren; Christopher Enyart, Alanna Enyart, and Connor Colston. He is also survived by two sisters: Janet Graves of Wauconda, Illinois and Cynthia (Gary) Deck of Lexington, Kentucky; many other relatives and friends.

   He was preceded in death by his wife, Yvonne; an infant daughter; his parents, Arlan and Myrle Robers; his sister, Alice Allacher; his mother-in-law, Margaret Borge; and his father-in-law, Manuel Borge.

   John will be remembered for his devotion to family, his strength, and the many memories we all have of him. His legacy lives on through the many generations who were blessed to know and love him.