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Obituary

'He loved Ruskin ... its people'

By MARTY CLEAR
Published November 24, 2006

Eugene McRoberts had only an eighth-grade education, but that was plenty for a man of so much strength, ambition and faith.

Mr. McRoberts, who lived virtually his entire life in Ruskin, rose to become one of the area's most prominent business leaders.

A past president of the Ruskin Chamber of Commerce and the Ruskin Merchants Association, he was named the Chamber's man of the year in 1998.

"He loved Ruskin and he loved its people," said his daughter, Dottie Pinegar. "He devoted himself to putting Ruskin on the map."

Mr. McRoberts, 85, died Nov. 13, 2006. He had been battling cancer for more than 20 years.

"He was just so strong," his daughter said. "You never would have known he had cancer."

Mr. McRoberts was raised on an island in the Manatee River that now bears his family's name, and in other homes in Ruskin.

His father was a commercial fisherman, and Mr. McRoberts went to work for him after he finished eighth grade. He would often joke that his family had one of the first mobile homes.

His family, grandparents and an aunt all lived on a large parcel of land in three houses. If his family had an argument with the aunt, they would put their house on logs and roll it over toward his grandparents' house. When the argument ended, they'd roll it back.

When Mr. McRoberts was 13 or 14, he lied about his age and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program for young men. His job was to find water for the burgeoning population in California.

After three years he returned to Ruskin and stayed there for the rest of his life, except for a stint in the Army during World War II.

After the war, he started his own business, McRoberts Fishery. In 1956, he started another company, Frozen Seafood Inc. in Leesburg.

He sold both businesses but remained their general manager until 1968, when he started McRoberts Sales, a wholesale seafood distributor. He remained chief executive officer of McRoberts Sales until his death.

His knowledge of the area and business led to appointments to several boards, including the county's Red Tide Advisory Board and the Charter Review Commission.

Said Bill Groce, a friend of Mr. McRoberts' for 40 years: "He had a big influence on my life. He showed me that you don't have to be untoward to do well. If you treat people right, you'll end up doing better that way. He did it with class but he could be a hard-nosed businessman. "

As active as his business life kept him, it never took time away from his family and his faith. Married twice and a father of five, he taught Sunday school for many years at Northside Baptist Church.

He suffered from Alzheimer's disease in recent years, but still spent every evening reading the Bible. "Sometimes he'd read the same passage over and over, but didn't remember that he had read it," Pinegar said.

"He'd get excited about the story he was reading and he'd tell me about it," his daughter said. "Then he'd say, 'I already told you this, didn't I?' and I'd say, 'That's okay, Daddy, you can tell me the story over and over again because I love hearing you tell it.' "

Mr. McRoberts is also survived by daughters Shirley Wallace, Lois McRoberts and Sandra Fail; son Dick Crosby; two sisters; nine grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

[Last modified November 22, 2006, 08:47:34]