Lewis Christmas Roberts

LAKELAND - Capt. Lewis C. Roberts, USMC (Ret.) of Lakeland died of heart failure, Wednesday Oct. 7, 2020 at home surrounded by family. He was 89 years old. Born in Columbia, S.C., on December 25, 1930, Capt. Roberts moved to Lakeland in 1971 upon his retirement from the U.S. Marine Corps. He enlisted in the Marines in 1951 and during his career served one tour in Korea during the Korean War and three tours in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Bronze Star with combat 'V' for valor among his many military awards. After retirement, Capt. Roberts served as a Special Assistant to U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles of Florida before becoming a Senior Vice-President of the defense contractor Balimoy Manufacturing Inc. He was predeceased by his wife Patricia Roberts in 2005 and is survived by his daughter, Cindy Miller and her husband Anthony of Lakeland; daughter Patricia Gaza of Houston, TX; son Lewis Roberts Jr.; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 at Heath Funeral Chapel, Lakeland. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society at: www.cancer.org/involved/donate.html