Craig Brian Roberts - ForeverMissed.com Online Memorials

Let the memory of Craig be with us forever.

This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Craig Roberts .

We will remember him forever.

Craig Brian Roberts was born in Modesto, CA on February 26, 1966 to Ross and Sheila (Tackett) Roberts.

FAMILY:

He leaves behind his Mother, Sheila, Father, Ross, and Sister Sheilena Louise (Roberts) Payne.

Daughter Emilie Robin (Roberts) Gerety. Grandson Jordan Elijah. Grandaughter Ansley Clare.

He was uncle to Zethrey, Cheyenne and Jay.

EDUCATION:

Craig started school at Washington elementary in Lodi, CA.

His family moved to Modesto where he was placed in the gifted program at Rose avenue elementary.

He lived in Arizona and received a Scholarship Certficate from Maricopa Elementary School (1976).

Back in California, he attended Chatom Elementary School and received an Outstanding Spelling Award with honors (1977).

Graduated Roosevelt Junior High (1980) with Outstanding Citizenship.

Attended Downey High School and was an Honor Student from 1981-1982. He made many friends that he stayed in contact with over the years.

As an adult, he moved to Santa Barbara where he attended Santa Barbara City College and University of California, Santa Barbara (1991-1994).

He was Honored for his Performance and Dedication by the Model United Nations of the University of California at Santa Barbara (1993). Also, was presented the President's Award for his Performance and Dedication (1994).

At the University, he made lifelong friends whom he never forgot.

LIFE:

In July 1992, while still in Santa Barbara, he traveled to Managua, Nicaragua to protest with the students for educational rights. He met a young student (Isela) they had lost contact over the years but reconnected on FB later and until his passing. He followed the students struggle after returning home

Craig wasn't just interested in things he studied them and made sure he knew what he was talking about before he gave his opinion. He was a very intelligent person with strong opinions. While still in high school he taught himself Russian and as an adult was fluent in Spanish, he loved different languages and people. He tried to treat everyone fairly. He hated bigotry. He was an avid reader and was reading several books at once. Mostly about our forefathers and the constitution. He had an eclectic taste in music, film and literature. Always reading and learning. He loved Astronomy.

As a man he traveled to many places and observed people without judgement. He was a photographer and writer and wanted to document the events of his time. He traveled to places that were in upheaval and documented the event without thought of danger to himself. Most of these times appeared on Facebook. If he had been beaten to death by police or antifa at one of these events he would have felt like it was a badge of honor. He had compassion, he sponsored Carlos, a child from South America up until his passing. He was never a material person. If he had money it was no object to use it for whatever someone else wanted or needed. His life was not a waste and his humanity overshadowed any downside of his life. There will never be another Craig.

Of course, this is not a complete story of his life. I hope everyone will add to the story as they knew him.

Tributes

Leave a tribute

January 20, 2019

My Brother
i can not put into words everything you have meant to me and the world. The things you taught me were the most important things in life like "It is going to be okay". I remember us sitting on the back porch of the white house in Lodi and you were hugging me and saying that as I cried. I remember you said it while holding my hand when the bamboo flute got stuck down my throat until the firemen got there. You said it to me and convinced me when I was giving birth to junior.
In times when I needed you, you were there. I will forever mourn the times I have not felt I was there for you.
Your life of teachings through conversations and your journalism has touched us all. We traveled with you, heard the voices and saw the faces from parts of the world we may never know.
You could not be easily convinced and your inquisitive mind never seemed to be satisfied. I will miss every hug, I love you and angry argument we would have had.
I can not relieve the pain and sorrow of Mom or Dad from your loss. I have no idea how to make it okay for Mom. I wish I could bring you back...
by Sheilena Payne

November 30, 2018

Craig will be greatly missed by his friends. I knew Craig since the early 90s, and have fond memories of our discussions about politics, economics, and life. Craig had a deep desire to see a world of greater peace and economic justice. His heart was always in the right place, and he had a brilliant mind. When some people pass away, it feels like it is mainly a loss for friends and family. With Craig's passing, I cannot help but feel that world lost one of its biggest hearts and shining minds, and that he still had much to contribute to our world. My condolences to Craig's friends and family...may his memory live on in each of us.

November 25, 2018

Cousin. Friend. Stranger. Craig. When I got the message that you were gone In a flash I realized I had never thought about what you meant to me. From time and distance spent apart it would seem not much, but from the pain I feel and the empty space that now aches - it would appear otherwise. You are family. You are my blood lateral. You were like me, came from a place I came from. In that moment it sank in that you are gone I also realized in an instant that what I had held as true was that I had more time - that as has been the case for the past 50 years that our paths would cross, our journeys would once again intersect and we would continue to add to whatever the world brought us in those times. I was wrong. You are gone. I am so sorry. I would so loved to have downloaded your brain contents if even just one more time. You know, I smile as I write this, thinking of how you would be entertained by the notion of these messages given that we all know you aren't here to read them. It gives me a giggle to one more time participate in something so illogical it would perplex you and perhaps make you shake your head at us mere mortals and our need to be spiritually bound to one another in times of trouble as if by sheer numbers we could somehow spread out the pain of losing you among us and in doing so lessen its bite - if in any way that could be the case surely you must know there aren't enough people left to lessen that pain for your loved ones, your mother. But it is why we try. It is why we write, Craig. So they, she, can see how many of us carry you with us, living in us in our living memories, in gifts of your intelligence and intellect that changed us. We do this dear one so in some way, we hope, that they know that you are still here. You are still making a difference and leaving a legacy of brilliance with us all. We are here so they know you didn't end. So, indulge us this act of pure hope - hope that we are right and that you are free, that you are whole and that we will, in what will seem like a blink, see you again....I can't wait to get the heads up on Heaven when I get there because I am sure you'll have it all figured out....until then...I will miss you in this world...I love you cousin - say hi to Einstein, I'm sure he's been waiting to pick your brain!

November 21, 2018

Я люблю и скучаю по тебе Крейг

November 18, 2018

I am privileged to have known Craig as my student. I truly mean that, but it was not until I read the many tributes left by friends and colleagues that I realized just how fortunate I was to have encountered him! He was a very special, if sometimes troubled, soul. But he hid nothing; shared everything. And at the end of the day, he was the most honest human being I could know.
What is clear is that he touched the lives of many of his colleagues. It didn't really matter if you agreed with him (Leif and Dan could tell you about that) or if you had bonded on the basis of near full agreement, he would still argue with you to insure that you were "solid" in your point of view. Regardless of our perspective, you all must know how much he loved and admired you!
He was very human. He made mistakes. When he did, they were whoppers! He wondered out loud how anyone could possibly do such a stupid thing. This is when I came to admire his uncompromising honesty and integrity. He was so easy to help!
He was an inspired leader! He wanted to help humanity more than anything else, and he did his best. He was also a searcher for the ideal. Nothing was ever quite perfect, and it was his pursuit of that ideal that was both admirable and heartbreaking, for as we know, we never find it. Perfection is always just a step away.
What can be said of Craig is that he loved his friends and that they loved him, and that his pursuit of truth and justice in the world was an ongoing obsession. It would be difficult for me to think that anyone who ever really knew him could ever forget him, and that includes me.
I feel truly grateful to be able to refer to him my former student. You leave a wonderful legacy!

November 15, 2018

I first met Craig in the Spring of 1992 when he was the teaching assistant for one of the political science classes I was enrolled in that semester. We quickly became friends and we ended up spending lots of time with each other as well as with the other more politically-obsessed students at Santa Barbara City College. In fact, Craig’s room at the Arlington Inn became the place where we would end up after class or after a night downtown. We spent countless hours in that room talking about anything and everything from current events and political theory to pop culture. I quickly learned that whether you were talking to Craig about Marxism, the Reagan Administration or Pulp Fiction, you better come prepared.
For example, when Craig and I got into a heated discussion regarding Watergate, I still remember him walking over to his oversized desk and picking up one of the books on the floor. It turns out, Craig just so happened to be reading a book on Watergate and spent the next several minutes reading me those portions of the book that proved his point. Even though he had just proven – with citations to the relevant transcripts no less – that he was right and I was wrong, Craig did not gloat. Rather, he was more concerned about making sure that I – an 18 year-old kid with lots of strong opinions – felt respected and heard. Only Craig could turn an argument about Richard Nixon into a bonding experience. That was Craig. He cared more about other people’s feelings than about being right.
After we transferred to different schools, we remained close friends even though he was in Santa Barbara and I lived in Los Angeles. As the years went by, however, Craig and I talked less about politics and more about our everyday experiences. Even though the subject matter had changed, Craig was still the same. Regardless of whatever personal issue we were discussing, Craig always listened and would offer advice without any judgment whatsoever. He was the first person I wanted to talk to when I couldn’t feel any worse and there was not a time I didn’t feel better after talking to him. I guess the best way to say it is as follows: Craig was just a really good friend and I will forever miss him.
I will always be grateful that Craig and I stayed in touch after college and that we saw each other on several occasions over the last few years. I am especially grateful that Craig spent some time with my family in 2015 and 2016 so they could see what a wonderful and thoughtful person he was. Finally, I am grateful that my last communication from Craig was in the form of a September 14, 2018 instant message in which he stated “Ken Starr’s ‘Contempt’ is fascinating. And very relevant.” That was so Craig. I plan on reading that book.
Rest in peace, Craig. You will be missed.

November 14, 2018

Craig has always been special. I don’t mean special as in extraordinary or intelligent which he was both. He is special because he is what we all should become. We go about our daily lives connected tangentially to those people and things around us. We feel connected in some ways.
Craig was different. He actually connected to the world around him in the deepest of ways. When we were children he became the characters we would act out with an imagination that had no limits. He took us on journeys that seemed so real that it felt as though we had really left the planet. He also devoured everything his mind could find. With no google searches in existence he could learn every dinosaur and tell us about each one like he met them personally.
As young people we envisioned careers of greatness that would never materialize from our struggling, middle class roots. We would debate war and peace and plan our destinies to together solve humanitiy’s problems. He loved discussing policy and was alaways willing to hear perspectives of all kinds.
As a middle aged man he used his great power of introspection and ability to listen to tell the world’s stories, not from his perspective but from the perspective of those who experienced injustice and suffering. He did this by “being them.” He did more than walk in someone else’s shoes. If you know Craig, yiu know what I am saying. From beginning and until now, what Craig is has no boundaries. He is truly a part of this world like few others are or will be.
That brings me to the sadness of his passing and the inner peace he brings to me. Craig always shouldered through life regardless of what his mortal encasement was doing (reference battle with the cast). I am sure there was no direct meaning in his physical struggles but I draw meaning now. In life he escaped the bounds of his physical being. He went places and connected to people that go beyond my ability to understand. He lived in a non physical world while here. Why would he cease to be that now?
He has found the answer to all questions. He knows why man suffers. His eyes are still laughing at the world’s inhabitants just like they did last month. He still knows our trials and our failings and he is content because he knows our suffering is temporary and our joy will be infinite and eternal as his is now.
I will forever regret not spending the time with him I did not know I could lose. He has made my life better and continues to do so today. Love you cousin.

November 14, 2018

My memories of Craig are the great times we had growing up together. The one that stands out was how much fun we had fishing in Laird park. I remember that Craig was the most interested in catching the crawdads. He would catch them I take them home to keep as pets. This was all fine until our mean Uncle Jimmy talked Craig into letting him put a firecracker in its claw, you can guess what happened, the firecracker blew the claw off the crawdad and Craig started crying. He just knew his crawdad was going to die, but it lived, Lol. We had a lot of good times Cousin, you are gone way too soon. Love you.

November 13, 2018

I was with Craig from our late teens to early twenties. Our relationship was complicated, and as time went on, those difficulties led to our end.

But for now, I want to focus on the many things I found endearing about Craig. Qualities that still linger in my mind as extraordinary.

We met in our Creative Writing class during our senior year of high school. He had all the qualities I wanted in a partner but never dreamed I’d find. Of course, he was intelligent. His vocabulary evoked someone wise and old. When our classmates complained about his using unfamiliar words, telling him to “speak English,” he’d jokingly scoff and say, “Learn English.” I adored his love for language.

He was curious about everything, a natural empiricist. We were once assigned a short story and had to figure out the last line in which the cowboy walks away, leaving funnel-like shapes in the sand. I remember feeling so impressed when he mentioned how frustrated he was trying to solve the riddle, and had even put on his cowboy boots to walk around and study his tracks in the dirt.

I fell head over heels for him, and I felt driven to get to know him. I followed him around on campus (called stalking these days) in the hope I’d run into him.

By chance, I met him in detention, and I let him know how much I admired him. I passed him a note, “How did you become so smart?” I remember his smile when he read it.

We found out that we had a lot in common regarding interests and curiosity about everything. I studied foreign languages at home, as did he. I read classic literature; he was also an avid reader (though he read many genres). I wanted to travel. I had high hopes of leaving town and moving to a university town. As did he.

He was bold in his awareness of his knowledge. It was like he was light years ahead of other young men around our age in terms of intellect, curiosity, and knowledge of the world. He had the capacity to quickly synthesize large quantities of complex, esoteric information and explain it in a way that anyone could understand. He was funny and witty.

He was also handsome and husky, yet he could be so gentle and sweet at times. He wrote creative love letters and notes to me, and had an uncanny knack to articulate his precise emotions. He often inserted words in foreign languages in his beautifully handwritten letters.

Although our relationship came to an end, his curiosity and thirst for knowledge have continued to fuel my own in all these following years.

Thank you for the precious moments, Craig.

May you rest in peace.

November 13, 2018

My son, my son.
So sad that your physical presence has left so soon. I feel so many things left unsaid----not done together. Many memories, more than I realized I had, have passed through my mind in the last few days. I shave with your razor and sit in your recliner and feel your presence and it is comforting.
I know that you are here in spirit and always will be. My earthly machine will also quit one day and we can fly together and explore.
I love you my son.

November 12, 2018

My cousin. I remember when you were born, we were at the ranch in Nevada and Grandma Tackett got the phone call. I was only 5 but that memory has always stayed with me. We played together for a few years (mostly torturing kim) and then I was your babysitter a couple of times out on carpenter road. As adults, we took different paths and we didn't agree on a lot of things but that never stopped me from loving you, my cousin. May you rest in peace.

November 11, 2018

I met Craig when I was studying at Santa Barbara City College. He is one of a group of very special friends that made an incredible impression on me during my early college years, and on whom I cherish always.
Craig was passionate, sensitive, brilliant and a very, very special soul. One of the things that I admire most about Craig is something I thought from the start of meeting him, and something that I think is how he lived since then. He wanted to understand the world so deeply and even more rarely to understand the world from someone else´s perspective. He crossed borders, time, oceans, and cultures to try to understand always. He was willing to walk in someone else´s shoes and take the risk that involves making leaps of faith.
He was courageous, but I also know that taking this journey caused a lot of pain. He witnessed many injustices and met many people whom he tried to help. To him, history was not something in a book. It was a conversation, it was always about the people, it was always about talking about how to make things better.
Craig also had very strong opinions. I remember so many late night conversations, and so many times Craig would not give up. He wanted to defend his viewpoint and discuss passionately with others. It is rare to have strong convictions and no resentment after arguments. Not for Craig.
Thank you Craig for everything you did on this Earth to make it a better place and to let everyone know around you how much we mattered, how much you cared, and how much you wanted to understand it all. I know it was not easy, but it made such a big difference to so many, many people.
I hope and pray for your journey now Craig to be filled with love and peace. May the light and love that is in our soul continue to guide you.
To Craig´s family, I am deeply sorry for your loss. You are in my prayers! Thank you for putting this tribute so we can all be connected and mourn, but also celebrate Craig and his life!
Lorena Barberia

November 11, 2018

My dear son,
No words can express my feelings for you. My world as I knew it ended the day you left. I don't know what to do without you. The emptiness is overwhelming. Just know I loved you deeply and that will never change. You are a beautiful person. A wonderful son.

Leave a Tribute

Recent Tributes

January 20, 2019

November 30, 2018

November 25, 2018

View all 13 tributes

Gallery

My Brother

November 11, 2018

i can not put into words everything you have meant to me and the world. The things you taught me were the most important things in life like "It is going to be okay". I remember us sitting on the back porch of the white house in Lodi and you were hugging me and saying that as I cried. I remember you said it while holding my hand when the bamboo flute got stuck down my throat until the firemen got there. You said it to me and convinced me when I was giving birth to junior.

In times when I needed you, you were there. I will forever mourn the times I have not felt I was there for you.

Your life of teachings through conversations and your journalism has touched us all. We traveled with you, heard the voices and saw the faces from parts of the world we may never know.

You could not be easily convinced and your inquisitive mind never seemed to be satisfied. I will miss every hug, I love you and angry argument we would have had.

I can not relieve the pain and sorrow of Mom or Dad from your loss. I have no idea how to make it okay for Mom. I wish I could bring you back...

Invite others to Craig's website:

Invite by email

Post to your timeline

Share in Messenger

Cookies are disabled :(

Tributes

Leave a Tribute

Invite others to Craig's website: