Eric McRoberts Obituary

Eric McRoberts, known as "Mac" to the many people who knew him in the Colorado Springs area, passed away on July 27, 2008 in Wytheville, VA, from heart failure. Eric was born on February 18, 1936 and had lived in Colorado Springs since 1943. He was a graduate of Colorado Springs High School (Palmer) in 1954, where he played sousaphone in the band by day and raced cars in the "bluffs" with his brothers by night. After graduation, he toured Europe on bikes with his brother Barrie. Upon returning to the states, he joined the Air Force serving in Alaska and Montana where he met his first wife, Margaret (Boles) MacAloon in 1958. They married in 1963, moving back next door to his childhood home, the "dance hall", in Colorado Springs. With Margaret, they built their dream home two houses away from the "dance hall" and raised a family consisting of three children until her death from cancer in 1984. He remarried in 1985 to Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Neese who survives him in Wytheville, Virginia. Eric worked for the ENT Federal Credit Union for 27 years, starting out as a "repo" man and loan officer, but retiring as Vice President of Lending in 1998. He loved jazz music since the days when his father's band, The Gut Bucket Seven would have their weekly jam sessions at the "dance hall". In recent years, he took up the tuba playing for the New Horizons Band of Colorado Springs. Eric also enjoyed playing golf and was a regular in various golf leagues around Colorado Springs for years, occasionally winning cash with his long driving ability. Throughout his years with beloved wife Betty, they traveled extensively, especially enjoying their times together in Mazatlan, Mexico. His wife Betty, two brothers, David and Barrie; two sisters-in-law, Ann and Mary; his three children, Daniel, Brian and Michelle; daughters-in-law, Roxana and Janet; and grandson, Eric, in his memory survive. He will be missed. His service will be held at the Wytheville Lutheran Church in Virginia on August 2, 2008 at 10:00 am. Memorial donations can be made to The New Horizons Band of Colorado Springs and sent to Mr. Ed Nuccio at 615 Orion Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80906.