Ben Roberts

Ben Roberts
Retired Corps of Engineers


Martinez, GA – Entered into rest Sunday, January 16, 2011, Mr. Benjamin Franklin Roberts, Jr., 90, husband of Nell Roberts.

Mr. Roberts was a native of Selma, AL and entered the U.S. Navy during WWII. After WWII he began a career with the railroad. He and his family moved from Spartanburg to Savannah and finally to Augusta in 1965. Mr. Roberts retired after working as an Inspector for the Corps of Engineers at Fort Gordon. His lifelong love, other than his family, was the railroad. He was a member and past president of the Augusta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Association. In 2009, he was presented a lifetime achievement award for a life dedicated to preserving the history of the Southern Railway.

Family members in addition to his wife include his son, William Franklin Roberts and wife Susan of Cross Hill, SC; daughter, Patricia Blankinship of Martinez; and grandchildren: William Franklin Roberts, Jr. and wife Cindy, Amy R. Stewart and husband Gunn, Amanda B. McClenny and husband Kevin, and Trey Lewis; great-grandchildren: Dylan, Savannah, Gunner, Jacie, Marshall, and Bryce.


Funeral services will be held Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 11:00 A.M. at First Baptist Church of Evans with Rev. Philip Hedgecoth officiating. Interment will follow at Bellevue Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers will be Kevin McClenny, Gunn Stewart, Trey Lewis, Michael Garrett, Robert Hardwick, and James Scofield. Honorary Pallbearers will be members of the Augusta Chapter of National Railway Historical Society, David Read and Dean Wheeless.

Memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church of Evans, PO Box 159, Evans, GA 30809, or Southern Railway Historical Association, PO Box 33, Spencer, NC 28159.

The family will receive friends Tuesday, January 18, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com