Kirby Weldon Roberts

Kirby Weldon Roberts, born April 7, 1965, passed away April 30 after a 2½-year battle with cancer. He was preceded in death by his daughter Brynn Roberts, father W. Milton Roberts, mother Beverly Holloway Roberts and stepmother Carole Roberts. He is survived by his wife Becky; his children Kellen and Kay Roberts; his sister Willa Roberts and her husband Chuck Dillon; his brother- and sisters-in-law Chuck and Jenn Bean, and Katherine Bean; stepbrother Chris Newman and stepsister Holly Newman. He is also survived by uncle Brian (Patricia) Roberts; aunt Marilyn Roberts; cousins Melanie Abbott, Lora (Angie) Blair, Tanya Abbott, and Weldon (Tracey) Roberts; nephews Chas (Claire and great-nephew Stanley), Conner (Audrey and great-niece Juniper), Patrick and Evan Bean; as well as a multitude of dear friends and chosen family. He was an Eagle Scout and attended the University of New Hampshire and Ohio State University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Kirby had a sharp wit, wry sense of humor and biting sarcasm, and he was a masterful storyteller. He was always quick with a smile and would throw his head back and laugh uproariously.

Kirb had a lifelong love of music. He played piano, sax, guitar and melodica and had a beautiful, mellow singing voice, although his on-stage musical theater career was limited to an ignominious turn in “Fiddler on the Roof” as Yitzuk the Streetsweeper when he fell off the stage. He also had an encyclopedic knowledge of pop and rock and could tell you every obscure connection between bands and performers from the ’60s to today. He had an uncanny ability to appear to be asleep but then chime in with disgust from the couch or the back seat with the answer to a trivia question that you were drawing a blank on. He was a swimmer, tennis player and baseball player growing up but remained a band geek at heart, once referring to Ohio State football practice as “football rehearsal.”

He loved food and fine dining but despised tropical fruit and felt anything with warm pineapple was an abomination. He was also an accomplished cook, treating friends to Chicken Fred and Roberts Family Fish Dish.

He loved his family dearly and proudly, often regaling friends with stories of his kids’ accomplishments and foibles. He also was amazingly tolerant of the soft-heartedness of Becky and the kids. He frequently took a hard line against allowing any more pets into the house but within weeks was the biggest softy, coddling the dogs and cats and sharing his couch, food and affection.

He was always ready to help and quick to jump into action, from checking on neighbors during an ice-storm power outage to securing the rooftop trapdoor of Becky’s office building during Hurricane Ike, and somehow always seemed to be carrying just the right tool in his pocket.

He was a longtime fixture in the Columbus audio/visual community and made many friends through his work with Markey’s and Mills James, where he was affectionately dubbed “Klownboy” because somehow Kirb always got saddled with the clients who demanded some circus-like miracle and he always delivered.

Visitation will be Friday, May 29, from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, May 30, from 1-3 p.m. with a memorial service immediately following at Tidd Funeral Home, 5265 Norwich St., Hilliard, Ohio. Immediately following the service, please join Kirby’s family for a celebration of his life at the Crooked Can at 5354 Center St. in Hilliard. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the James Cancer Hospital or any cancer charity or animal rescue of your choice.