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Out of the office By Chris Strunk Last Updated: May 14, 2015 Roberts as unique as his shop Valley Center lost one of its unique characters last week. Gene Roberts, longtime owner of Roberts TV & Appliance on South Meridian, died May 7. He was 80. Roberts owned and operated the eclectic shop at Clay and Meridian for nearly 60 years. He sold some of the strangest items in that shop, and he'd often advertise odd things on his billboard on Meridian. Reams of computer paper, metal rods, that sort of thing. As sort of a jab at the city, Roberts named the access road in front of his business "Roberts Way," because it fell in sort of a gray area of public-private right-of-way. Roberts was born in Bentley and moved to Valley Center about 60 years ago after marrying Bess, a former member of the city council. Roberts spent about 14 years at Cessna and built air conditioners at a Wichita business before he started Roberts TV out of his home on West Third. He built the current building 47 years ago and did a brisk business, selling dozens of televisions every year and exploring his long-held interest in electronics. He also sold heating and air conditioning units, electronic buttons and wires of every kind, appliances, electrical equipment and even plumbing supplies. "We had everything," he told The News a couple of years ago. We last visited the business in 2013 when Roberts announced he was ready to retire and close the store after 56 years. In 2012, the city began dogging Roberts about his property, saying he had structures too close to the road and other issues of non-compliance. Bess asked the city to "back off" and give her husband some time as he continued to liquefy the store's assets. "I decided not to fight it anymore, and just to get out of here," Roberts said. So, he decided to go fishing. "It's been a long, exciting life," he told The News. "It's time to do some fishing." We're not sure how much fishing he got done because he spent the past couple of years still selling as much merchandise as he could out of the store. Unfortunately, his truck in front of the store became a less frequent sight over the past several months. We're sure Roberts is somewhere tinkering with an old radio right now. He was survived by his wife, his children and grandchildren. Funeral service was May 13. Chris Strunk is publisher of The Ark Valley News. Reach him at 755-0821, news@arkvalleynews.com or on Facebook. |
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