Lyman, South Carolina

Peter L Roberts – A Heart to Serve

November 27, 1952 – May 17, 2022

Peter was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, with his brother Arnold, by their parents Raymond and Selma Roberts. After high school, he attended Queens College and graduated with a degree in criminal justice. He briefly tested that field, but soon found that he had a penchant for sales and began a career in the business world.

Early on he worked in sales at Revlon, then moved to Didde selling printing presses. It became clear that Peter was a gifted salesman, but his approach was not a hard sell. Rather, Peter incorporated his genuine concern for the needs of others into a business philosophy that resulted in ongoing success throughout his life. He had a heart to serve others, and it served him well.

Peter left New York in the early 80s and moved to northern California where he took a sales position with Mergenthaler Linotype. Debbie also worked for Mergenthaler in the Long Island, NY headquarters. What started as a business relationship over the phone, became long-distance dating, which led to their marriage in 1987. They had each found the love of their lives.

Peter won several sales awards, including a trip around the world, which led to sales management positions at two different companies, and then to the General Manager of Anacomp Inc. San Francisco. Peter and Debbie enjoyed yachting during this time and Peter served as Vice Commodore of their yacht club on the Sacramento River.

In 1994 they moved to greater Greenville, South Carolina to start a business products company with partners, and Peter as president. However, in 2002 Peter was diagnosed with stage four Prostate Cancer, which forced him into retirement. At that point another aspect of his core personality came to the forefront; Peter was a fighter who loved life and wanted to continue his for Debbie and others. He devoured medical journals and books on Prostate Cancer and became an expert in the field.

He started a website called Save Your Males to provide up to date information regarding the management, treatment, and prevention of the disease. He acquired tens of thousands of readers, free of charge, and maintained the site even through his own battle over 20 years. He traveled periodically to Washington DC to sit on various committees related to new treatments.

Peter served his community in additional ways as president of his neighborhood Homeowners Association, as a substitute teacher, and as the local computer whisperer when anyone needed work done on their computer. His was a life well-lived, with a heart to serve others.

The Roberts family is being cared for by Sullivan Bros. Mortuary Inc.