James L. Roberts Family Photos

Memorial Service

Memorial services will be held Saturday, February 4th at 2:00 p.m. at Wages Snellville Chapel. The family will receive friends Saturday from 12 noon until service time.

Tom M. Wages Funeral Services, Inc.
Snellville Chapel
3705 Hwy 78 West
Snellville, GA 30078
770/979-3200
www.wagesfuneralhome.com

Those desiring may make donations to:

Kidsplay Therapy Center
311 Cooper Road
Loganville, GA 30052

Or a charity of their choice in honor of John J. Roberts. Thank you for all your prayers, blessings and kind words.

Update on John's Accident

Accounts of the accident were a bit fuzzy yesterday, but clearer today.

These details come John's assistant, who later had to identify his body.

John was out jogging in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. As he was preparing to cross the street, according to an eye witness, he looked both ways. A mini-bus came "out of nowhere" and struck him.

A passing British motorist stopped and aided him, escourting him to the hospital. To him, our family extends the greatest thanks and respect.

John sustained a broken arm and leg, fractured pelvis, broken ribs, bruises and lacerations. Despite these injuries, he was awake and lucid when they took him to the hospital. A CTscan indicated no brain damage, and he was able to speak his name, and repeated that he was an American working for Parsons Brinckerhoff.

During or soon after John died.

But the man was almost 60 and still jogging, trekking and biking like a 30-year-old!

In Memory of John Jackson Roberts

John Jackson Roberts
[1947-2006]

Survived by:
former wife Nancy;
daughters, Pamela, Gretchen and Rachel;
grandchildren Jake, Neeley and Luke;
father James and step-mother Mary Jane;
siblings Dianne, Scott and Judith (below).

John died of wounds sustained during an accident while jogging on a highway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. John had recently been named Project Manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff on The Palms Jumeriah, one of the largest and most exciting infrastructure projects in the world, which involves the creation of a huge manmade island that will host luxury residences and hotels.

John was managing PB’s work in overseeing the development of infrastructure for the island. According to Tim Judge, PB’s Principal-in-Charge on the Palm Jumeirah project, “John earned the respect of the entire team including our client, and was instrumental in driving the Palm project forward into an exciting new phase.”

John’s association with the company began in 1973 with the PB-led joint venture on Atlanta’s MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) project. He was a Resident Engineer and worked on the King Memorial Station, the East Line aerial structure, and the West End Station. He was PB’s Program Director for two consecutive five-year contracts with the Florida Department of Transportation for construction management services on Florida’s Turnpike, and was named Construction Manager of the Year by Parsons Brinckerhoff Construction Services in 1997. Chris Reseigh, who worked with John on MARTA, called him “one of our construction stars” who “was very close to all of us who worked in Atlanta” and did “a terrific job on his recent international assignments.”

Extensively traveled, John was Project Manager for a PB contract as the Employer’s Representative on a design-build project for a toll road in the Philippines and Special Consultant and Resident Engineer on the Taiwan High Speed Rail Project.

John was a graduate of Georgia Tech; he then served in Vietnam from 1969-1970 as a lieutenent in the US Army.

During his career as a civil engineer, John traveled extensively to the Phillipines, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.


Always in amazingly good shape, he rarely looked his age. Since High School, John was an avid runner, competing in races across the world. He enjoyed taking long range bike tours, especially in Southeast Asia.

[ John with his beautiful daughters, Rachel, Pamela and Gretchen ]

He died pursuing his passion.

[John with grandson, Jake.]

Taiwan High Speed Rail

It's very sad to hear the news about John Roberts, I want to pass my deepest condolence to you and your family.

This is Pauline Hsu who was the secretary of John Roberts while he was working at S220 Hsin-Chu in Taiwan High Speed Rail ( THSRC), I would like to pass this report to you that may help you for his memorial website.

This paragraph was written by the Web Page term of our Construction Management Division (CMD) in the head office Taipei, they visited him on 9-25-2003 and announced it in our Newsletter on 10-21-2003, but it's written by Chinese, Bill Wang (my colleague) and I have translated it to English for John, I have kept this record in my computer, I never thought that it become a memory to John. Please see the details in the attachment, you may arrange it or wait the further link from
our head office because I have passed this information to the person who is in charge of Web Page in our head office, they will re-arrange it and e-mail you to link soon.

This is only one thing that I can do for John at the moment. Praying to God that he is safe and happy in heaven.

Best regards,
Pauline Hsu

Gusts of Winds: What Wind City is Like
Written by Corina Lee

In the morning of Sep. 25 when the New Letter Web Page Team arrived at S220 Site Office, Resident Engineer John Roberts greeted us with great happiness on the face due to his willingness to share with us his great joy. We were informed he just received the call from his daughter regarding his being a Grandpa. The handsome co-worker surnamed JR is from Knoxville, Tennessee, a father of 3 daughters with a little regret of no girl’s name of Julia Roberts in any of the three. He told us about well-known Tennessee Waltz and Country Music as well as famous Jack Daniels Whisky by name of the origin.

JR started as short-term consultant for a couple of months’ contract with THSRC aimed at helping solving problems at Civil Works Contract Sites of C230 & C240. Because of his great contribution as the consultant, his contract with THSRC has been changed to 2 years and he is assigned a RE of S220 Contract Site leading a team of 28 co-workers to build Station at Wind City.

JR has many assets such as pertinent in character, serious on work, going to office early and late to leave. To the problems in quality, design, structure, construction period, he is consistent in following up until it is solved. Fond of mountain climbing and jogging, he is used to taking lunch break for jogging, toning up body. Besides, he is actively attending activities held locally, for example, Chong-lin Giant Pig Worship Ritual as shown in the picture. It is believed he becomes the best publicity spokesman for Ho-ka culture.

What is instrumental to S220 Station Works is free of hassles of land acquisition around Station all of which are reserved for Station use only. As to labor supply and outside party coordination, there seems to be little obstacles, a given gift to station works. But there is still undecided details in design which require repeated communication and coordination with Artech Architect Office and Contractor Daiho Co.

Steel work Engineer David Wang has expressed to us that another challenge of technical problem S220 faces is solution of cylindrical steel pipe. Since specially designed Grand Roof is emphasis of Hsinchu Station, especially the symbol of the Station which requires very complicated structure techniques to solve problems that may occur. According to Design Section Resident Site Architect KJ Toh, presently a Hong Kong design consultant is invited to assist in solving Grand Roof detailed design problems.

Hsinchu Station, though the smallest award in the six of THSRC stations, gains its position in the other way, i.e., its design represents Taiwan in the 8th Session of Year 2002 Venice International Architecture Bi-yearly Exhibition Show entitled “NEXT”& Year 2003 Rotterdam Architectural Design Bi-yearly Exhibition Show and won world-wide recognition, giving Taiwan Architectural Design & THSRC the best publicity.

Artech team led by Berkeley Graduated Jen-shih Yao, integrates features of Nature, Culture & Custom, Workmanship, Geography, Science of Wind City into the design of the Station.

The Grand Roof of the Station looks like circular wings taken by strong Hsinchu wind with only two points fixed on the ground, under which a high spacious dimensions receiving wind –like speedy train coming in.

The inspiration of designing the Concourse comes from traditional Ho-ka cylindrical building. Incessant flow of bustle & hustle passengers diverges from oval concourse. Divided by Concourse, there are two long circular walls; southward wall designed with ancient Ho-ka workmanship and material sideward expressed; northward wall designed with modern sense and glass material vertically expressed; material on both walls decorated in geometric contrast, giving passengers South & North bound a sense of visual joy, and easy detection of directions. In the middle, there is a very modern glass bridge gripping the two walls symbolizing connection of South & North as well as a integration of tradition & modernization.


DRE CC Chuang is one of the vanguard since the beginning of THSRC, and was transferred from Continental Construction Co., working with former Civil Work VP Dr. Crighton and then Coordination Manager of RON. Same as many engineers, he work at BUB with hope of experiencing more practical experiences at S220 construction site, currently playing a construction & coordination role. He matches greatly with RE JR in division of labor, together lead S220 to achieve the target of 5 Key Dates for operation of Year 2005.

Many of his classmates work with THSRC but in different sites, having a chance to meet along High Speed Rail. They are both classmates and co-workers with decades of precious memories. How lucky they are on their life track to have such a precious rendezvous! It is hoped that everyone of us can contribute their expertise, wisdom on THSRC track, making our life more meaningful.