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.]