Wilbur Wesley Roby Jr

Wilbur Wesley Roby Jr., aka Buggs or Wally, passed away from kidney disease at 5:12 a.m. on Tuesday, November 25 at the Pickering House in Lancaster, Ohio.

He was born on September 7, 1952 to the late Wilbur Wesley Roby Sr. and Helen Ruby (Craiglow) Roby. Wilbur was a 1970 graduate of Lancaster High School.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years and 8 months, Carol Sue (Eaton) Roby, his son, Adam Wesley (Carla) Roby, his daughter, Amy Sue (Paul) Ketcham, and son, Matthew Todd Roby. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Mason Wesley Roby, Carol Bernice Roby, Hailee Elizabeth (Hayden Collins) Roby and Nikole Renae (Raymond) Felix. His sisters, Margo Roby and Tammy (Jon) Dawson, Aunts, Bonnie (Craiglow) Clark and Pat Mast, numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and cousins. Special friends, Ken Sprague, Jason Biggs, Bill Clark, Sam and Rocky Cook.

Wilbur has worked since he was 14 years old, starting at Loroco Paper Mill for his uncle Ralph Craiglow. He took Drafting in high school and then attended Carpentry School and graduated top in his class. He worked various jobs with his father until Wilbur’s death in 1976. He worked his way up in several construction companies to eventually become a superintendent on job sites. Some of his accomplishments were overseeing the building of many projects from the ground up, the last one being Hopewell Health Center in Logan, Ohio before his retirement in September of 2018. He also oversaw the building of many schools, e.g., Maysville School, Fairfield Union Middle School, John Glenn High School, Morgan County Schools and many more.

His greatest joy in his life was being a pyrotechnician, shooting fireworks shows for over 30 years with Hamburg Fireworks Display Company. He has often said that the first show he helped with, the sound of the crowd cheering when the grand finale was over was all it took for him to be hooked on shooting shows as long as he could. He said that Jerry Sprague was his inspiration.

His other passion was going to the casinos with Carol, he always called her a loser on their way home, but she was by far luckier than he was. LOL

Wilbur is proceeded in death by his parents, Wilbur and Helen Roby, father-in-law and mother-in-law Charles E. and Bernice C. Eaton. Sisters and brothers -in-law, Joyce and Dan VanScoy, Sue and Jerry Evans, Vicki and Sam Guthridge, brother-in-law, Bernard Eaton and nephew Keaton Shoemaker, and one of his best friends, Rob Engel.

A special thank you to Dr. Wilmer, Dr. Falkenhain and Dr. Tasch, the nephrologists at Hocking Hills Dialysis Center and all the nurses and technicians, each treatment he talked about how much he loved all of them and how hard they worked. Thank you to Dr. Galen Hayek and especially his nurse Heather Fick, whom he loved dearly. Thank you to FAIRHOPE Hospice and the Pickering House, they are truly Angels here on earth.

There will be no services per his request. Caring cremation will be by Leaf Cremation of Ohio. Memorial contributions can be made to FAIRHOPE Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc., 282 Sells Road, Lancaster, Ohio 43130