Roberts, Fred Morton 1880-1973

ROBERTS, SWAN, JORDAN, WALTZ

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes
Date: 1/2/2014 at 09:08:00

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register

FRED ROBERTS
COLLEGE TRUSTEE
DIES IN SEATTLE

Fred Morton Roberts, 93, philanthropist and long time trustee of Grinnell College, died in Seattle, Wash., on Dec. 26

A native of Postville, Ia., Roberts was graduated from Grinnell in 1899 and received a law degree cum laude from Harvard in 1903.

A partner in the law firm of Roberts, Shefelman, Lawrence, Gay, and Moch in Seattle, Roberts was also a prominent banker who was president and chairman of the board of several banking institutions, and a past president of the Washington Bankers' Association.

His career in banking began with his appointment as assistant cashier in the Postville State Bank in Iowa shortly after the turn of the century.

One of the oldest alumni of Grinnell College, Roberts became a member of its board of trustees in 1945 and was named a life trustee in 1971.

With his wife, the former Edith Swan of Reinbeck, Ia., who was also a Grinnell graduate, Roberts made significant financial and other contributions to the college during his lifetime.

In 1960 the couple provided the endowment for the James Morton Roberts Honor Professorship in memory of their son who died in 1931.

Both Fred and Edith Roberts were recipients of the Alumni Award granted by the Grinnell College Alumni Association. Also, Roberts Theatre, part of the college's Fine Arts Center, is named in his honor.

Grinnell President Glenn Leggett called the Iowa-born philanthropist "a citizen-statesman who contributed greatly to the communities in which he lived and served. Fred Roberts never forgot his native state and the education he received here. His and Mrs. Roberts' benefactions continue to live as splendid testimony in that fact."

Mrs. Roberts preceded her husband in death two years ago. Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Ruth K. Jordan of Seattle and Mrs. Mary R. Waltz of Snohomish, Wash.
================================
Social Security Death Index
Given Name: Fred
Middle Name:
Surname: Roberts
Birth Date: 16 March 1880
SSN: 531-34-7432
State: Washington
Last Place of Residence: Seattle, King, Washington
Previous Residence Postal Code: 98124
Event Date: December 1973
Age: 93