died Wednesday, October 19th at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester after an extended illness.

Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, he graduated from Natick High School and resided in Durham, North Carolina; Cleveland, Ohio; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Stony Brook, New York; Braintree and for the past three years Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Summers throughout his life were spent on Drake’s Island in Wells, Maine. He was the son of the late Ivan & Evelyn (Wiffen) Roberts of Natick and Kennebunkport, Maine.

John received a Bachelor’s in Zoology from Dartmouth College in 1959 and earned his Ph.D, in Radiation Biology and Biophysics from Duke University in 1965. Dr. Roberts obtained a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University in 1980, and in 1992 completed the Program in Patent Prosecution and Licensing at the Franklin Pierce Law Center.

John was a committed father, a prideful grandfather and a beaming great grandfather. An inveterate engineer and accomplished woodworker, his residences were outfitted with his creations ranging from telescoping PVC handrails (the grandchildren’s favorite) to hand-made, ornate mahogany bookcases. He often held court in his living room, delivering impassioned sermons on big government (bad), old friends (nonconformist, precocious, occasionally daft) and molecular biology (quite simple) over the glow of NFL football and Fox News.

His greatest joy came from being in the presence of his family and grandchildren; playing, nurturing and being a strong part of their lives from their births into their adult years. He counted himself forever fortunate to get to know his great granddaughter Ellie, and delighted in watching her grow and develop in front of his eyes.

He was a gifted vocalist and greatly enjoyed “belting it out” in his local chorus, from restaurant booths and while “puttering” in his extensive woodshop. A voracious reader, he loved all works non-fiction, as well as his hidden pleasure, detective novels.

For the past 12 years John was a Patent Agent and Licensing Specialist at Medlen & Carroll, LLP. Preceding his tenure with Medlen & Carroll, John spent four years as the Associate Director of the Technology Licensing Office at Stony Brook University, and 9 years as the Senior Licensing Manager in Technology at the University of Michigan from 1992 – 2000.

In 1973, after spending 9 years as a research scientist at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, he moved back to his hometown of Natick, Massachusetts where he served as Senior Scientist at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology.

From 1979 until 1982 he was President and CEO of BioXenics, Inc, when he took ownership of the family business, Cottage Doughnuts Corporation. He then worked as a consultant for start-up development at Children’s Hospital, Boston.

He was admitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1992. His primary concentration was Business/University Collaborations; Licensing, Competitive Analysis; Freedom-to-Operate; and Patent Prosecution (especially in Nanotechnology Applied to Medical Diagnostics and Analytical Instruments).

The ‘OM’ (Old Man) is survived by his daughter Deanna L. (Roberts) Hazeltine and her husband Michael B. Hazeltine of Milford; his son Mark S. Roberts and partner Lisa Laberge of Milton, Vermont; his grandchildren Cynthia L. Roberts of Pawtucket, R.I., Stephen B. Hazeltine of Brooklyn, N.Y., Samuel S. Roberts of Gardner, and Erin L. (Hazeltine) Huba of Brooklyn, N.Y., and his great-granddaughter Eleanora Roberts of Gardner.

A Service of Remembrance was held with the family privately according to his wishes.

Expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association or the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association or the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

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