Dale Eugene Roberts

Dale Eugene Roberts, 95, passed away on August 10, 2023, leaving a huge hole in our hearts. He was born on August 29, 1927, in Indianapolis to Estel Monroe Roberts and Frances Marie Castetter. He had two older siblings – Keith Roberts and Maxine (Roberts) Mitchell.

His grandparents farmed in the then tiny burg of Fishers, where he would walk down 116th Street on summer evenings to watch movies projected on silos near the center of town. The home he grew up in still stands at 62nd and Rural Street, where Dale, as a child, found arrowheads in the plowed field that eventually became Glendale shopping center. He attended John Strange Elementary School and Broad Ripple High School and maintained close friendships with several of his classmates throughout his life.

Dale graduated from Purdue with a B.S. in Forestry and was a devoted Boilermaker and member of the John Purdue Club. He became a member of Beta Theta Pi while at Purdue and had great memories of his fraternity brothers, such as Steve Bechtel and Dick “the Bruiser.” He started Capital Building Supplies with a partner in the early 1950’s and became a successful supplier and installer of windows and doors for some of the most notable buildings in Indianapolis and surrounding areas. The business was renamed Roberts Glass and continues today.

While Dale lived his life in Indianapolis and Carmel, he had many adventures that took him outside central Indiana. He entered the Army in 1946 and was assigned to the ski troops in Colorado. His life-long love of skiing was born during his service, and he learned how to stay warm in a tent when the temperature in the mountains reached -40 degrees F. Over the years, he enjoyed many hunting trips with friends in the Midwest, western U.S. and Canada, and fishing trips in Alaska.

Dale met his wife, Mary Jo Cooper, who survives, when she was dining with mutual friends at a supper club near downtown Indianapolis. She finally agreed to go out with him one evening when she “had nothing else to do.” They were married in 1953 and celebrated their 70th anniversary this year. Members of both families cried at their wedding, thinking it wouldn’t last (hah!) because it was a “mixed marriage” – Protestant and Catholic.

Dale – extrovert that he was – truly looked forward to gatherings of family and friends and was a very good storyteller. In earlier days, he enjoyed tennis, the Panera coffee group and Gyro. He had great friends from his various hunting and fishing trips. He and Mary Jo had life-long friends they visited in California and Tucson every year, and relatives in Georgia and Florida with whom they visited on annual family trips to St. George Island, Florida. Their trips to France with their friends Michel and Becky Pascal were memorable.

Heartfelt thanks to Dale’s amazing caring friends Kris and Shane Whybrew, Sondra Ice and Kindness Care Solutions. Neighbor Diane Abdellah was likewise a wonderful friend, who shared her golden labs with Dale. We also appreciate his longtime friends whose visits were great fun for Dale and Mary Jo.

They had four children: Connie Kane (Larry); Ted Roberts (Jamie Lee); Steven Roberts (Wendy) and Nancy Mohr (Greg); grandchildren Jake (Alex), Mitch, Addison and Cooper Roberts; Matt Mohr (Lynn), Nick Mohr and Annie Mohr Parmacek (Alex); Cameron Lee (Jessica), and Casey Lee; Patrick Kimball (Jennifer) and Mary Elizabeth Kane; and two great-grandchildren, Aubrey Taylor Johnson and Austin Brooks Parmacek. Dale also had special relationships with his nieces and nephews, who often took the opportunity to visit him.

A Celebration of Life is planned for Friday, August 18, 2023 at 3:00 p.m., in Robertson Chapel at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 West 86th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240. Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until service time.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to one of Dale’s favorite non-profits – the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Purdue University, or the Hamilton County Humane Society.

Neptune Society is in charge of cremation arrangements.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared by visiting: https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries/indianapolis-in/dale-roberts-11406530.