Funeral service for James Roberts, 83, Lawton, will be 2:00 p.m. Monday in the Peace Church, south of Indiahoma, with Jim Roberts, Wayne Schoonover and Kerry Malakosky officiating. Mr. Roberts died Thursday, November 24 in Dallas, Texas. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens under the direction of the Becker Funeral Home & Cremation Service. James was born March 1, 1928 at Sentinel, Oklahoma, to Troy and Vera (Lomax) Roberts. He graduated from Snyder High School in 1946 and entered the U.S. Army and was discharged in 1948. He married Jane Roberts on July 28, 1949 at Fort Worth, Texas. She preceded him in death on October 22, 2005. He graduated from Texas Wesleyan University and North Texas University and earned his master's degree from the University of Oklahoma. He had worked for public schools in Texas and Oklahoma having taught at Selden, Texas and Fort Worth, Texas. He had been employed by the Lawton Public Schools and taught at Garfield Elementary School, served as the principal at both John Adams and Geronimo Road Elementary Schools and at the time of his retirement in 1988 was the Associate Administrator of Elementary Schools. James had also served as pastor of Peace Church, south of Indiahoma, beginning in 1961 and had recently retired after 50 years of ministry. He also was the host of a weekly radio broadcast, Bible Study Time', which aired on the Frederick radio station. He had served on the Salvation Army Board, the Oklahoma Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development and was active in the PTA at both the local and state levels. He was also a member of the OEA, NEA and the Comanche County Retired Teacher's Associations as well as a lifetime member of the Kiwanis Club. He is survived by two daughters and sons in law, Jane Ann and Kerry Malakosky and Judy and Wayne Schoonover, both of Lawton; a son and daughter in law, Jim and Joan Roberts, Lawton; six grandchildren and their spouses, Jennifer and Jason Adams, James Roberts, III and Caroline, Caleb and Abby Schoonover, Billie Jean and Tom Fox, Amanda and Darin Milburn and Rachel and Ross Foster; 15 Great Grandchildren, Nick Milburn, Mallory Milburn, Kaitlyn Schoonover, Alex Fox, Sidney Roberts, Reid Schoonover, Jackson Adams, Makarah Foster, Ansley Adams, Aliyah Schoonover, Jolie Milburn, Hayley Fox, Alex Adams, Amelia Foster and Eli Roberts; a sister, Betty Wood, Houston, Texas; two sisters in law, Doris Rightmer, Lawton and Sue Payton, Mexico. His parents preceded him in death. Memorial contributions may be made to the Peace Church Building Fund, c/o Clif Fisher, 5908 SW 197th Street, Cache OK 73527-4541. The family will greet friends from 3-5 pm Sunday at the funeral home.