Alfred Stanley Roberts

Former El Paso City Representative and longtime civic activist Alfred S. Roberts Jr., known to everyone as Stan, passed away March 4, 2016. He was 87 years old. Stan was a fierce advocate for Northeast El Paso for much of his life. He was born in Venice, California in 1928 and married his wife Jetta Hollywood there in 1948. They came to El Paso in 1955 when he was stationed at Ft Bliss and fell in love with the city. He retired from the Army in 1974 after 28 years as a First Sergeant. He spent some time after that, teaching radar systems to NATO troops. His father Alfred “Stan” Roberts Sr. (Pop) had retired by then and moved to El Paso from California and had become involved as a civic activist here in El Paso. They soon joined forces and founded the Northeast El Paso Civic Organization. At that time El Paso elected council members city wide. Stan believed that government should be more representative of the people and initiated the change to single member districts. This changed the way El Paso government is run and today is how we elect our Council. The El Paso Times at one point deemed Stan to be “the father of single member districts.” He championed many other causes such as Cohen Stadium and was a constant figure at City Council for many years. Many referred to him as an “ankle biter” at the time, a title in which he took great pride. In 1991 he was elected as Northeast City Representative and was reelected 4 times. During his time in office, he worked hard for his district and the city as a whole. He worked especially hard to see that the Fire and Police departments were adequately staffed and equipped. He always felt that emergency response and public safety was the first responsibility of government. After leaving City Council, he continued to represent his community whenever and wherever possible. He served on many boards and commissions such as Bienvivir care facility, the Sheriff’s advisory board, Border Patrol Museum Board, the Armed Forces YMCA and the charter revision commission until his health prevented him from continuing. Stan is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jetta, who worked alongside him in his efforts and continues to serve on the Texas Silver Haired Legislature. He is also survived by his children Michael, Jetta Lynn, Beverly, and Stan D. Roberts as well as 7 grandchildren and soon to be 8 great grandchildren. An activist to the end, in protest to the conversion of Ft Bliss National Cemetery to xeriscaping, Stan’s final act is to have his body interred under the green grass at the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston. He made the choice to be buried 500 miles away from the community he loved and served for so many years in an effort to affect change. He will be greatly missed by his family as well as the community he served. In lieu of flowers the family asks that a donation be made in his name to any Veterans organization. Visitation will be from 5:00pm-9:00pm Wednesday March 9, 2016 at Sunset Funeral Home Northeast. Funeral Service will be at 10:00am Thursday, March 10, 2016 at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (5510 Hondo Pass Dr, El Paso, TX 79924). Committal Service will be held with Full Military Honors at 11:15am on Monday, March 14, 2016 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home Northeast in El Paso, Texas. Please visit our online registry book at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net