Gary L. Roberts

Gary L. Roberts was born on October 9, 1943 with a courageous and caring heart. This loving, strong heart served his family, country, and church until November 30, 2022, when, to our great sadness, it stopped and ended his extraordinary life. Services will be held at Hillsdale Community Church, UCC, 6948 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR, on December 30, 2022 at 2:00pm. A private interment at Willamette National Cemetery will be held at a later date. Gary was born in Riverside, California and grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. Corvallis itself is the "heart of the valley" and it is where his loving parents, Adele and Mel, raised him alongside his younger brothers Doug (Marlene), Dean, Brian (Kristi), and his favorite cow (Cynthia). Gary went to Oregon State University on an ROTC scholarship and graduated in 1965 with a degree in Political Science. At OSU his heart lit an eternal flame of love when he met Sharon Gaylord on a Methodist ski retreat. At the foot of Multnomah Falls they committed themselves to a life together and were married at Hillsdale Community Church, United Church of Christ. Their love led to a beautiful family with their daughter, Alison (Adrian) and son, Mark (Julia). Their hearts welcomed three granddaughters, Amy (Nick), Anna, and Philippa, a grandson, Ryan (Keilani), as well as two great-grandchildren, Carter and Charlie. Gary was a commissioned officer in the US Navy where he completed two tours of duty in Vietnam on the USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation as a combat pilot and reconnaissance pilot. He gratefully returned to a life and family that he and Sharon grew together while mourning the loss of their friends who did not come home. Gary's love of aviation remained throughout his life even as his understandings of his military duty, the personal and national effects of warfare, and his theology of peace and forgiveness evolved. Gary's professional career initially focused on assessing the value of property. But like the apostles in the scriptures that he cherished, he found his heart strangely warmed and called to serve the church. Technically his ministry was helping UCC congregations understand the monetary value of their property. But Gary was always much more interested in helping them welcome and celebrate the value of all their people, particularly people whom our society routinely devalues. It was with that caring heart which Gary was licensed and commissioned as a minister in the UCC. He first served the UCC as the Minister for Local Church Building as Director of the Church Building and Loan Fund and later as the Associate for Church Development and Renewal in the Southern California/Nevada Conference UCC. Gary was a pancreatic cancer survivor. Fear wrapped around the family when Gary was diagnosed with the disease in 2019. His commander's heart led him, us, and many others with the same diagnosis, to endure the treatments and surgeries with hope and bravery. With gratitude for the years that followed his victory over pancreatic cancer, Gary lived a life worth surviving for with a renewed sense of urgency. Mentoring, inspiring, challenging, laughing, crying, serious and seriously funny, he filled his and our days with excellent coffee, wisdom, and love. Over the years, Gary's heart was burdened from his service in Vietnam. He courageously sought to understand how moral injury and moral trauma had shaped his own life. In this spirit, he dedicated himself to mentoring and supporting his fellow veterans through their own recovery as a state certified Peer Support Specialist in the US Veteran's Administration. He was revered as an initiated Elder who faithfully and lovingly offered his unabashed guidance to veterans and civilians. The body created in God's image through which Gary went about this life is no longer with us. But the strong undying rhythm of service and love continues to beat within those whose hearts are heavy with grief at the sudden ending of his life. At this time of Advent we anticipate one day reuniting with him in God's peace. We trust that he is greeted in his new eternal life by those who have gone before him, gathered like Mary and Joseph around the manger, in awe and wonder at the beauty of the heart of God present in us all. If your heart calls you to action in Gary's honor, you can respond by supporting veterans by promoting sufficient funding for and easy access to mental health resources. You can advocate and vote for policies and people who create peace and justice in our nation. You can give a donation to the United Church of Christ Strengthen the Church Fund (https://www.ucc.org/giving/ways-to-give/our-churchs-wider-mission/strengthen-the-church/) or Veteran Rites (https://www.veteranrites.org/). You can invite someone to go to a church with you where they can discover the heart of God alive in their life. Or you can do all that and much more, as Gary did throughout his life.

Gary L. Roberts

October 9, 1943 - November 30, 2022