Obituary of Cleveland Eugene Roberts

Funeral services for Cleveland Eugene (Gene) Roberts, Jr. are scheduled for 3:00PM, Saturday, January 20, 2024, in the chapel of Golden Funeral Home, with Bro. David Ford officiating, assisted by Bro. Tim Post. Private interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. There will be a time of visitation from 1:00 PM until service time. Gene, a resident of Tyler, TX and formerly of Bastrop, LA, passed away January 15, 2024, following a lengthy illness. He was a member of the Goodwill Church of God. He is preceded in death by his first wife and mother of his children, Patsy Coughran Roberts, his parents, Cleveland and Ruth Nugent Roberts, brother, Greg Roberts, and grandson, Micah Roberts. He is survived by his wife, LV Bonner Roberts, son, Chris Roberts(Stacey) of Prattville, AL, daughter, Elizabeth Mason(Lee) of Bullard, TX, Donna Ostteen (Mike) of Tyler, TX, sister, Sue Jenkins(Ted) of Poplarville, MS, and grandchildren, Chandler Roberts(Emma), Haley Roberts, Hannah Roberts, McKenna Mason, Aidan Mason, Ainslee Mason, Everley Mason, and Laura Ostteen. Gene was drafted into the US Army in 1966, serving until 1968 with the 2nd Squadron, 4th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division. He served in active duty combat during the Vietnam War, receiving an Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device for his “heroic actions” and “deadly accurate machine gun fire” in defeating hostile forces on January 15, 1968. After leaving the US Army, Gene attended the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science, graduating with Valedictorian honors in 1970. He relocated his family to Bastrop, LA, where he began his lifelong career with Golden Funeral Home. He became owner and managing partner of Golden Funeral Home in 1986, and he continued in that capacity until his retirement in 2008. During his 20 plus year tenure, he oversaw the design and construction of the current Golden Funeral Home, Golden Flower and Gift Shop, Golden Monument Company, Golden Pre-Arrangement Insurance, and Downing Pines Cremation Facility. After retirement, Gene and LV moved to Tyler. It was there, from their house on the lake, that he undertook his second career of keeping his family’s and friend’s freezers well stocked with bass, bream and crappie. When he wasn’t fishing from his pier, he could be found traveling with LV in their RV to bluegrass festivals, spending time at Toledo Bend, Lake Fork and Bull Shoals with friends and family, or in his studio involved in a wood-working project. For all of his successes, Gene considered his family to be his greatest . He cherished most the title of “Poppa Gene” and the grandchildren who called him by that name. He often traveled long distances to watch countless ball games, dance recitals, band concerts, and graduations. He was selfless with his time, energy, and talents, and his loved ones were beneficiaries of it all. The holidays and vacations spent with him will be sorely missed. Serving as pallbearers will be Mark Coughran, Keith Reed, Willie Bonner, Lamar Lang, Chandler Roberts, and Aidan Mason. Honorary pallbearers will be Charles Burns, Jerry Freeland, Ted Jenkins, Lee Derrick, Roger Coughran, Don Sasser, Delton Stover, Gary Booth, his 4th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division brothers, and employees of Golden Funeral Home, past and present. The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to his special caregiver, April Ates, for her wonderful care of their loved one. If you would like to make a donation in his memory, please consider Hospice of East TX or the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home.