Elzey Meacham Roberts Jr. ’42

Elzey Roberts, a lifelong resident of St. Louis, died of prostate cancer Jan. 12, 2010, in his native city. He was the son of Elzey M. Roberts 1915.

Elzey prepared at John Burroughs School in St. Louis. At Princeton he played in the University Band and joined Terrace Club. He majored in astronomy, was admitted to Sigma Xi (the scientific research society), and graduated with high honors.

After graduation, Elzey was recruited by the Radiation Laboratory at MIT, where he worked on early forms of radar. In this same field he was transferred as a radiation engineer to the Navy in Washington. Just after V-E Day he was sent to Europe, where he interrogated German engineers about the progress that they had made in electronics during World War II.  

At the end of the war, Elzey returned to St. Louis, where he and Rachel Lee Anderson were married. Simultaneously he became involved in management of a family business, KXOK Broadcasting. After the sale of this station, Elzey joined G.H. Walker & Co., an investment-banking firm, and later was principal in his own public-relations company.  

Elzey is survived by Rachel Lee and their children, Lila Lee Roberts and Carl Anderson Roberts. To them, the class sends condolences.