RICHARD DOUGLAS "RICCY" ROBERTSON, SR.,
83, passed away on Feb. 2, 2007, with burial in
Grove Hill Memorial Park at Dallas, TX.
Richard (known by a few as Robby & by many as Riccy)
Robertson was born in Indianapolis, IN, on May 21,
1923 to Douglas & Opal Hoog Robertson, just because
his mother happened to be there at the time. He grew
up in southwest Texas and went to Ranger High School
in the Class of 1937 at Ranger, TX. When he was quite
young, he moved to Lincoln, NE, to live with an uncle
and attend Nebraska University.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1940, trained in Great Lakes,
IL, and was assigned to submarines stationed at Pearl
Harbor about two weeks before the attack. He served on
submarines four & a half years and on aircraft carriers
during WWII and the Korean. He served in the regular
Navy for 12 years and the balance of 29 years in the
Reserves. While in the Reserves, he was named as the
New Mexico Reservist of the year and was nominated as
Reservist of the USA. He was runner-up for that honor.
Because his five year old son was ill in Arlington, TX
most of the time, Ric thought his health would improve
if they lived west of Texas. He was employed by LTV in
Grand Prairie, TX, where he was acknowledge as the best
medal plater in the area. LTV had a plant in Roswell,
NM so Riccy applied with them for employment. He was
hired as their Control Manager. Then they closed and
returned to Texas three months later. Riccy did not want
to return to Texas with them, so he stayed in Roswell.
Mrs. Krebs took him to Germany and taught him the process
and he returned to Roswell and put in the Christmas by
Krebs plant. The water in Germany and Roswell being
different, their formula would not work, so Riccy and
the chemistry teacher at Roswell High School worked it
out.
Riccy was a Major in the N.M. State Defense Force for
three years, but at the insistence of his doctor he
reluctantly resigned after his heart attack. He worked
for Fuqua Mobile Homes until they moved from Roswell.
While with them, he was a designer and their sign-off
engineer. Riccy was one of the 20 men who formed the
Submarine Veterans of World War several years ago. He
served as President of that organization. Only two
members of that group survive.
During this time he was very active in the Masonic Order
and Eastern Star. He worked with the boys in DeMoley
and was Rainbow dad for the Order of Rainbow for Girls.
He served as Worthy Patron of Eastern Star's Roswell
Chapter Number 10 & served on many of the Grand Chapters
committees. He was a member of Roswell Lodge No. 18,
Scottish Rite in Las Cruces, York Rite & Ballut Abyad
Shrine, as well as Order of the Eastern Star Chapters
Roswell No. 10 and Lake Arthur No. 24. He and his wife
Inez Baker, met and married for over 52 years. They,
with their son, Riccy, Jr., moved to Roswell in 1970.
In 1990, after his heart attack, he was shop foreman
for WEK Oil Drilling Co., for several years. He retired
early to work on old cars in the garage they built, but
he was always too busy to get around for that.
Riccy is survived by his wife, Inez Baker Robertson
(RHS-1937), his son, Riccy, Jr. and his brother-in-law,
Roy Baker of Belle Chasse, LA, and Roy's family.