Joe T. Roberts, J.D., beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away on November 13th, 2024 at 85 years of age. Best known for his emboldened personality and esteemed professional career, the indelible impression he left on the London community will forever remain. Born to Tommy and Eunice Roberts of Manchester, Kentucky on December 5th, 1938, his childhood upbringing instilled a fervent love for family, taught him the importance of hard work, and a passion for antique trading.
He leaves behind his only sibling, Leotta Jean Gandolfo, also of Manchester. Joe T. spent six decades living and loving his cherished wife, Judy Weaver Roberts, coming from the revered Weaver family of London. He credits his success and prosperity to the encouragement of his beautiful and adored partner. Joe T. and Judy shared two children: Stephen Joseph Roberts and Heather Rachelle Roberts Manning, both of London. His grandchildren, his dear Queentessa Elise Manning and J. Colt Roberts also survive him. His family was his legacy, and hopes they will live on with the same power, dignity, and honor he engrained in them. He leaves his family and those closest to him behind, who are holding to the promise of reuniting with their "Popeye" again one day.
With reverence for a man who was, in many ways, his own finest antique—a rare find, crafted by years of stories, polished by wisdom, and gilded with humor--those he leaves behind will fondly remember his life well lived.
Like a museum full of unassuming artifacts, each piece stands unique: Its edges softened by the hands and weather of time, its value measured not by gold or weight, but by the tales it holds, silent yet eloquent. In a room of collected marvels, among relics of the rarest kind, stands Joe T. himself—a man who, like those treasures, was rare, storied, and irreplaceable.
His profession was law, yes, but he practiced it with a craftsman’s touch. To him, every case was an artifact waiting to be dusted off, examined, understood. He saw beyond the details, zeroing in on truth the way a seasoned collector spots an authentic piece at first glance. And like any true collector, he had a gift for seeing what was worth keeping and what was merely noise.
Those who knew him as a lawyer remember that talent, that razor-sharp focus. He didn’t waste words nor time. “Straight to the point,” he’d say, always with that glint in his eye and that sly smile, as if he was privy to some joke we had yet to catch onto. His words had a way of striking true—quick, clean, and with the kind of humor that left people smiling even when they’d been bested.
But it was his life as a collector where his truest essence lay. For to him, antiques were not just objects but a communion with history. His collection was unmatched—items so rare, so one-of-a-kind, that to see them all together was to glimpse a world no one else could ever recreate. Each relic he owned was like a companion from another age, each detail of brass or oak, ivory or porcelain, a testament to the endurance of beauty and craftsmanship. With each its own story of how he acquired it, usually always ending with how he laughed the whole way home.
And in his own way, he was —a blend of depth and rarity, one you couldn’t find in anyone else. His family and friends were not just loved but cherished, each held as though they, too, were unique pieces in his own collection of beloveds. He was a man who lived with reverence for those around him, a collector of people, of memories, of laughter.
Let us remember him as we might remember an old, cherished heirloom—always with the knowledge that such treasures don’t come along often, and once lost, they leave a quiet space that cannot be filled. He was an antique in the best sense: rare, impossible to replace, and forever valuable.
Funeral services for Joe T. Roberts will be held on Saturday, November the 16th, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel of House-Rawlings Funeral Home with Jeff Lewis and Jerry Lewis officiating. Burial will follow at A. R. Dyche Memorial Park in London, Kentucky. The family will receive friends on Saturday, November the 16th, 2024 beginning at 1:00 p.m., also at the funeral home.
Serving as pallbearers will be his beloved family members and dear friends: Jeff Weaver, Juddy Weaver, Wes Lovins, Christian Helton, Keith Begley, Maddox Begley, Parker Ebertshauser, and Wes Lyttle.
In addition, Jerry Weaver, Glenn Cobb, Bob Berry, Bruce Chesnut, Randell Brewer, Jerry Mays, Myles Begley and Peter Kamberos will serve as honorary pallbearers.
The family has entrusted House-Rawlings Funeral Home with the arrangements.
