James W. Roberts was born Sept. 19, 1934, in Waco, Texas. After graduating from Waco High School in 1953, Roberts served two years in the United States Navy. Upon returning home from the Navy, Roberts attended Baylor University and graduated in 1961 with a degree in Education. His career in education began as a World History teacher and coach, spending his summers as a Youth Director at the Waco State Children’s Home. From the very beginning, it was abundantly clear that Roberts’ two passions were education and serving others.
Following his years in the classroom, Roberts started in the textbook industry. For years, Roberts specialized in teaching workshops on early detection of learning disabilities in kindergarteners, supported the prison system with books for their GED programs and worked with various school districts on textbook adoptions. He believed that each person had their own individual style of learning and wanted to embrace each unique learning style and help others recognize their abilities.
In 1969, Roberts and his wife Martha packed up and moved to Fulshear, TX. Two years after relocating to Fulshear, Roberts joined the Fort Bend Library Board where he served Fort Bend County diligently for 19 years and was on the forefront of helping to secure funds for George Memorial Library. While serving on the Library Board, Roberts found himself faced with another project to better his community. After realizing that Fulshear residents had a water and sewage problem, he set out to obtain grants for the necessary repairs. However, grants for these repairs were only available to incorporated cities. Thanks to Roberts’ foresight, the process of incorporation was initiated and Fulshear became an incorporated city eligible for water and sewer funding in 1978. He was then elected the first Mayor of the new city and worked to establish the city of Fulshear’s police department and secure land for the city’s first school, Huggins Elementary. During this busy time Roberts ventured as an entrepreneur, leaving the textbook business to start his own sales agency for industrial supplies, J.W. Roberts Company.
In 1980, Roberts was elected to the Lamar CISD Board of Trustees where he served a total of 12 years, nine of which he served as president. While on the Board, Roberts helped Lamar CISD welcome four elementary schools, a middle and high school, the District’s first natatorium and the Lamar CISD administration building. He did everything in his power to not only meet the needs of the District, but continually surpass them.
He worked tirelessly to serve his community and balance his roles as a business leader and decision maker for Lamar CISD. From 2006 to 2010, Roberts served his second term as Mayor of Fulshear before moving to Brenham, TX where he and his wife Martha currently reside. Martha, also an educator, taught for seventeen years, eleven in LCISD. James and Martha have three grown children and nine grandchildren. Roberts’ commitment to education, his family and community continues to be undeniable. Where others may have seen a problem and said, “someone should do something about that,” Roberts was the one to say, “I should do something about that.” Which he did- time and time again.
James W. Roberts Middle School opened in August 2019. We hope to carry on James Roberts’ legacy of community service, passion for education, selflessness and hard work.