Dr. Richard W. "Doc" Roberts K9BX was one of the area’s most well known Amateurs. He was active in both the RMRA and the Wisconsin Valley Radio Association, often serving as mentor to new Hams. He had been an ARRL Volunteer Examiner, and was active in Army MARS for over 50 years.
He was born Dec. 9, 1921, in Milwaukee and lived in Shorewood Wisconsin for his first 25 years. In 1943 he graduated from Marquette University with a major in chemistry and from the U.S. Army aviation cadet program as a 2nd Lieutenant. In December of that year he married Barbara Zimmerman, also of Shorewood.
After three years of active duty in World War II, he continued his military affiliation in the U.S. Air Force Reserve program, reaching retired status as a Lt. Col. in 1986.
After the war, he taught chemistry briefly at Marquette and then spent four years at the Institute of Paper Chemistry at Lawrence College in Appleton earning his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees.
He then embarked on a 33-year career as a research scientist in the paper industry. While working at Marathon Corp. in Rothschild, he managed a project that developed a new pulp bleaching process for a mill in Alabama.
In 1962, while at Wausau Paper Mills in Brokaw, he directed a team that developed the first system in Wisconsin to use a digital computer to control a paper machine. For the rest of his working career, his efforts were devoted, among other things, to expanding the application of digital computer control.
He was a longtime member of the American Chemical Society, the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, the American Society for Quality Control, and the Biometric Society.
He also served 12 years on the Board of the Marathon County Public Library, and three years as president. During his term as president, the project to rebuild the Wausau library and various branches obtained funding from the Marathon County Board.
He was active physically, playing handball several days a week into his mid-70s and lap swimming regularly up to 2008. He was a member of the Woodson YMCA in Wausau since 1952, serving as a volunteer for over 40 years and on the Board of Directors for over 20 years. Golf was also a favorite activity, and he was a member of the Wausau Country Club for more than 45 years.
Doc Roberts died Monday, November 15th 2010, under the care of Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice Services at the Hospice House.