Category Archives: Obituaries

Obituaries from 1999-2000

Alden “Butch” Robinson, May 8, 2000

    Alden “Butch” Robinson passed away at his home in Earleville, Maryland on Monday, May 8, 2000. His funeral was May 14, in Smyrna, Delaware.

Felix F. “Butch” Jacobs, January 31, 2000

    Madelyn A. Jacobs, Butch’s wife, wrote to the survivors: “I lost my dearly beloved husband on January 31, 2000. Felix (Butch) Jacobs lived his life with me for fifty-six years when the Lord took him to his heavenly home. The wonderful memories I have of Butch will remain, but I shall miss him terribly. We had a lovely service at the cemetery and I was presented with the flag of our country.
He was a wonderful man and lived to be eighty-eight years old. He was proud to be a member of the Samuel B. Roberts Association and I hope I can continue to be a part of your group.” 

    Butch was survived by two daughters and one granddaughter in addition to his wife. He had retired from Allis-Chalmers Company after 43 years of service

Edward W. Driskill, Sr., October 12, 1999

    Edward Driskill, Sr., died of a heart attack on October 12, 1999. He was at home in Forest, Virginia. He was a Seaman Second Class on the USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS DE 413 and was wounded in action when the ship was sunk. His son, Edward W. Driskill, Jr. said that his father read everything he could get involving the ship and was so proud to have represented her memory.

Leotha C. Wells, April 14, 1999

    Leotha C. Wells of Long Beach, California died on Wednesday, April 14, 1999, after a lengthy battle with cancer. She is survived by a son, Chris Wells.

    Leotha was the widow of Fred Grove, Chief Watertender, who was killed in action when the Samuel B. Roberts (DE 413) was sunk on October 25, 1944. She was a very loyal and supportive member of the Samuel B. Roberts Survivors’ Association, and had attended every reunion since the inception of the Association.

Dick Rohde obituary

Dick Rohde passed peacefully at home in Ocala, Florida, June 4. Born on Staten Island, NY, Dec. 21, 1925, to Frederick and Stephanie, he is survived by his wife of 62 years, Helen; five children, Kelly (Boardman OH), Patty (Indianapolis), Bobbi (Austin TX), Fred (Granada Hills CA), and Cliff (Niskayuna NY); eleven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his brother, Fred (Ocala) and cousin, Grace Hathaway (Ocean NJ).

Dick earned the Purple Heart serving on the USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS, DE413, sunk in the WWII Battle of Leyte Gulf. A “Hotelie,” Dick graduated from Cornell Univ. in 1951.

He served as private club manager at The Ohio State Univ. Faculty Club, and at clubs in Monroe, Grosse Ile, and Birmingham, Michigan. 27 years in Michigan did not shake his allegiance to his OSU Buckeyes.

Dick and Helen retired to Ocala in 1996, where Dick engaged actively as a volunteer, including with the  Samuel B. Roberts Survivors Ass’n, Ocala West United Methodist Church, VA, OMUG, and Lion’s Club. Dick, an eternal optimist, storyteller and jokester, profoundly touched the lives of those he knew.

Memorial services will be Saturday, June 13, at 3 p.m. at Ocala West United Methodist Church, 9330 SW 105th St. The family encourages in lieu of flowers a gift in Dick’s memory to the American Cancer Society.