James W. Roberts Jr's Obituary
James Winfield Roberts, Jr.
11 July 1924 - 09 January 2021
James was born in Winchester, Tennessee, where his father was a Baptist Minister. He grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, graduating from Lee H. Edwards High School in 1942. He enlisted in the Signal Corps Reserve and attended specialized electronics programs in Winston Salem, at North Carolina State College in Raleigh North Carolina and at the Philco Corp. in Philadelphia sponsored by the Army Signal Corps. He served on active duty with the Signal Corps from 1943 until 1946, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was posted to New York City where he worked on the Sig Saly project at Bell Telephone Labs, developing and fielding the first speech cryptographic system. His Unit was part of the Signal Corps which later became NSA.
In 1943, James married Jewell Pollard. They had seven children: James W. Roberts III, Emily Ann Williams, Russell A. Roberts, Margaret E. Santos, Mary Catherine Roberts, Richard L. Roberts and Andrew H. Roberts. Mary Catherine died in Italy in 1959. Jewell died in 1997. In 1973, James married Eleanor J. Shanklin in Basel, Switzerland. Eleanor “Kitty” had one child, William A. Shanklin, IV from a previous marriage. Kitty died in Palm Harbor Florida on 29 July 2011. James is survived by six children, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and one great grand granddaughter.
After WWII, James worked at the National Archives in Washington, DC, where he installed and operated a sound recording studio, while attending George Washington University. He graduated in 1949, receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics. He was a member of Sigma Phi Sigma, the physics honor society, the American Acoustical Society and the American Institute of Physics. In 1948, he joined the Department of Defense as a civilian employee, serving in Washington, in Frankfurt, Germany, at the US Mission in Berlin, at the American Embassy in Rome, at the American Embassy in Saigon and at the American Embassy in Bonn, Germany where he retired in 1973.
After retirement, James moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where he collected and sold books on Japan, China, Korea and the Orient. This collection of some 7000 books have been donated to the University of South Florida. He also specialized in books by James A. Michener, whom he befriended in St. Petersburg. This provided a reason for frequent travel in the USA and abroad. James and Eleanor were especially fond of exploring new restaurants and wines on their journeys. He also attended St. Petersburg College full time for two years taking most of their computer programming courses.
Around 2014, James met Jacqueline Cappiello who lived in her home in St. Petersburg. It became obvious to both that they had many interests in common. Over a short period, they became cruise partners and companions in restaurants in St. Petersburg and in Clearwater. She graduated from Barnard College in New York and then received her Masters in Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School for Journalism. She has worked as Bureau Chief for the New York Herald Tribune in Vienna Austria, Senior Editor for Forbes Magazine, Senior Editor for the Globe and Mail in Toronto Canada as well as a number other interesting jobs. They both enjoyed opera, classical music, theater, and good food. She was obviously well read and was comfortable in talking about virtually any topic with anyone. It was obviously an enjoyable relationship for two elderly retirees.
James lived a long and fulfilling life and was especially proud of his children and their accomplishments in life. His only regret was that so many of his friends and colleagues were called away before their times. He had a good life and was blessed with good health.
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