Derek Michael Roberts Obituary
Derek Michael Roberts was born January 25, 1992 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and died April 21, 2020. He was 28 years old. He is survived by his parents, Chris and Debbie Roberts of Baton Rouge, sister Tiffany Roberts and fiancé Phillip Lanza, and sister Stephanie Landry and husband Steven of Boston, Massachusetts. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents Lloyd and Evelyn Williams of Walker, his Aunt Kathleen Williams of Longview, TX and his Uncle Jonathan Roberts of Baton Rouge.
Derek is also survived by his paternal grandparents Burnelle and Mona Roberts of Baton Rouge, Godparents Joe and Barbara Roberts of Baton Rouge, girlfriend Rhian Brown, along with numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Derek was a life-long resident of Baton Rouge and attended Gables Academy and Baton Rouge Community College.
He was an avid sports fan who religiously followed LSU, the Saints, and surprisingly the Green Bay Packers with Brett Favre. Derek was often seen in his prized Pelicans baseball cap. He was confident and positive, he loved to try different things and seemed to have no fear. From water sports, golf, crossbow, motorcycles, and cars, especially Mustangs; he just did it.
Derek had recently been contemplating sharing his life's experiences by visiting schools and speaking to kids concerning drugs and his own personal struggles. Sadly, this was not to be. Derek loved his family immensely. His gentle and caring heart gave him the great ability to read people's feelings and he always knew when his Mom or others needed a hug.
He was also an animal lover throughout his life. Starting with fish and birds, his collection of pets slowly grew into what could be considered a small zoo, including ferrets, turtles, snakes, hamsters and an iguana. Dogs, though, were the constant companions in his life, most recently his beloved Chaos and Bailey. Derek's physical life may have ended here on earth but his spirit lives on.
His family looks forward to the day when they can all once again hug. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, there will be a private graveside service held at St. George Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers and in memory of Derek's love of dogs, donations or adoptions can be made through Friends of the Animals dog adoption house in Baton Rouge http://www.friendsoftheanimalsbr.org or by going to their Amazon wish list – FOTA BR.
