John Earnest Robert, Jr.
And His Brother
Horace Adams Robert
In addition to daughter Agnes Robert, John E. Robert, Sr. and Bessie Ethyl (Adams) Robert were the parents of two sons.
John Earnest Robert, Jr. was born February 19, 1913 at the XI Ranch in Meade County, Kansas. He moved to Los Angeles, California with his family, where according to the 1920 US Census, his father was the owner of motion picture theaters. He accompanied his parents on visit to relatives in Germany on three occasions between 1920 and 1930 and also on several Hawaiian vacations.
About 1923, he returned to Maple Hill, Kansas where he attended school and assisted his father in his coal, lumber and hardware store. In the 1930 US Census, he is still shown living with his parents, going to school and assisting with the family business.
The 1940 US Census indicates that he returned to California with his parents between 1935 and 1940 and is a Painter and House Decorator. His father is shown as the owner of a dairy creamery at that time. John E. Robert, Jr. was living with them and working on his own.
At the age of 30, John Robert enlisted in World War II on January 18, 1943 in San Diego County, California. He was shown to have two years of college and was assigned to be a local Warrant Officer. He was single, and 6 2 in height.
I wasnt able to find anything else about his life after being discharged from the Army. I did find a Social Security Death Claim, which listed his death as occurring on October 4, 1989 in Los Angeles County, California. No burial location is listed.
Horace Adams Robert was born on February 26, 1916 on the XI Ranch in Meade County, Kansas where his parents, John E. and Bessie Ethyl (Adams) Robert were living. Horaces grandfathers, Horace Greeley Adams and John E. Robert, Sr. were the owners of the ranch.
Horace is shown living with his parents in Los Angeles on the 1920 US Census. At the time, John and Bess Robert are shown to have two live-in household servants.
Horace moved to Maple Hill, Kansas with his parents in about 1923 and attended school there, as well as assisting his father with the family coal, lumber and hardware business. He also accompanied his parents on several trips to visit relatives in Germany, where his Paternal Grandfather, William Robert, owned extensive banking and other business ventures.
Horace is still shown living at Maple Hill, Kansas on the 1935 US Census, but is listed in the Los Angeles City Director in 1936, indicating that he moved West with his parents between 1935 and 1936.
Before moving to California, Horace Robert was married to Edith Waneta Mee, daughter of Maple Hill, residents Edwin and Etta (Werning) Mee. Waneta Mee was born on November 24, 1916 near Flush, Pottawatomie County, Kansas. Edwin Mee was farming at that time.
Sometime before 1930, the Mee family moved to Maple Hill, Kansas where the 1930 US Census gives Edwin Mees occupation as Rural Mail Carrier, and the occupation of his wife Etta, and their three oldest children Arthur, Orville and Lyndon as General Store Operators and Clerks. The 1940 Census indicates that Mr. Mee remains the Maple Hill Rural Mail Carrier, but there is no mention of the familys involvement in operating a general store.
I remember Ed and Etta Mee living on Maple Hills Main Street in one of the largest homes, which had been built by the Beach Family soon after 1900. Mr. Mee was retired so long as I knew them. They purchased a farm of about 100 acres on the east boundary of the town of Maple Hill, where he kept one or two milk cows. The farm is now owned by his grandson, Baird Miller and his wife Susie. In addition, the Mees rented rooms to two or three teachers at the Maple Hill Grade and High Schools.
Mr. Mee passed away in 1956 and Mrs. Mee in 1960. Both are buried in the Maple Hill (Old Stone Church) Cemetery.
Horace A. Robert was listed as a freshman at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA in 1935, as a sophomore in 1936 and as a junior in 1937.
Horace and Waneta (Mee) Robert were the parents of two children: John Edwin Robert born March 22, 1937 and Judith Elaine Robert born June 19, 1939, both at Los Angeles, California. The 1940 US Census shows the family living at 10511 Penrose St., Los Angeles. Horace Adams occupation is shown at Bi-Plane Mechanic.
Horace A. Robert enlisted in the United States Army on June 26, 1945 at Ft. MacArthur, San Pedro, California. Enlistment papers state that he has three years of college and that he is a skilled airplane builder and mechanic. Horace was honorably discharged on May 27, 1946.
The Robert Family eventually returned to Maple Hill, Kansas and Horace was employed by the Menninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas. He later purchased the Raine Lumber and Hardware Company at Maple Hill, which his father had owned during the 1920s and 1930s. Waneta (Mee) Robert worked at Heifner Nursery in Topeka, Kansas.
I knew the Robert family in Maple Hill. I knew Horace Robert as someone very talented in all kinds of building and carpentry. He remodeled the former Harry Lemon home on Pierce Avenue and made it attractive and comfortable. On many occasions, I took a problem to Horace at the lumber/hardware store in Maple Hill and he always had a solution. Waneta had a sparkling personality and I enjoyed going to Heifner Nursery and talking to her about plants, particularly roses. She was very knowledgeable.
Horace A. Robert died on November 9, 1986 and Waneta (Mee) Robert passed away on June 20, 2001. Both are buried in the Maple Hill (Old Stone Church) Cemtery, Maple Hill, Kansas.
The following obituary for John Edwin Robert provides essential information about his life:
John Edwin Robert died peacefully at his home in Topeka on Sunday, April 8, after a long illness. He was 70 years old. He was born March 22, 1937 at Los Angeles, CA. the son of Horace Adams Robert and Waneta (Mee) Robert. He served in the Air National Guard. A 1966 graduate of the Kansas State University College of Engineering, he was retired from the Rural Electrification Administration of the federal government; he spent over 30 years living in suburban Washington, D.C. while with the REA. John had worked during summers for Bell Telephone in the Los Angeles, CA, area while he was attending college. John was a man of many interests, but his true passion was duplicate bridge. He played in hundreds of tournaments during his lifetime, and he achieved the status of Life Master in 1975. During his retirement, he played bridge over the Internet as well as at clubs. He was also an avid chess player. He took all of his hobbies seriously, reading books and learning all he could about them. He made and flew model airplanes; he raised tropical fish, both fresh- and salt-water; and he enjoyed fishing and camping. John was also an accomplished violinist; and whenever possible, would play with community orchestras. He is survived by his children: Brent, Murfreesboro TN; Christina, Minneapolis, MN; and Teresa, Gaithersburg, MD. He also leaves behind his sister and brother-in-law Judy and David Adams of Meade, KS, and Maple Hill, KS, and his companion Patricia Hanrahan of Topeka. He had two grandchildren, Shelley and Steven Robert of Murfreesboro, TN. A memorial service in Maple Hill, KS, is planned for May 12 (please contact the family for more information). In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. Piper Funeral Home, St. Marys, Kansas is assisting the family.
Judith Elaine Robert graduated from Maple Hill High School, Maple Hill, Kansas. She was first married to Jerry Ray Schaffer, the son of Raymond and Ruth (Beck) Shaffer of Nemaha County, Kansas. Jerry Shaffer was born near Reilly, in Nemaha County, Kansas. Judy and Jerry Schaffer had one son, Craig Robert Shaffer, born January 21, 1966. Jerry and Judy Schaffer were divorced. Jerry Schaffer died on December 3, 1986. Craig Robert Shaffer died March 4, 1991. Craig R. Shaffer is buried in the Maple Hill (Old Stone Church) Cemetery, Maple Hill, Kansas.
Judy (Robert) Shaffer was married a second time to David Stewart Adams at Maple Hill, Kansas. Essential genealogical and other information is found in the obituary of David Adams:
David Stewart Adams, age 76, died Thursday afternoon, October 18, 2010 at the Lone Tree Retirement Center, Meade, Kansas.
He was born June 16, 1934 at Topeka, Kansas the son of Raymond E. and Jessie (Stewart) Adams.
As a young boy, he attended Maple Hill Grade School. He later attended Pembrooke Country Day School in Kansas City, Missouri before graduating from Washburn Rural High School in 1952. After his graduation, he attended Kansas State University. He later joined the United States Army, serving for several years. Upon his discharge, he returned to Kansas State University furring his education. After his schooling, he continued his ranching career living at Maple Hill, Kansas.
In 1997, he moved to the Adams Ranch in rural Meade County. He has been ranching all his life.
He was a member of the Kansas Cattlemans Association, a founding member of the Maple Hill A.A., the American Royal, Pembrooke Hill Alumni Association, and Sigma Alpha Epison Fraternity. He was an avid pilot and enjoyed flying his Beechcraft Baron for over forty years.
On September 13, 1980, he married Judith Robert at Maple Hill, Kansas. The couple recently celebrated their 30th Wedding Anniversary. She survives.
Other survivors include: his children, Sarah Adams Guinn and husband Kent of Overland Park, Kansas; Amy Berckman and husband Bobby of Moorehead City, North Carolina; David Stewart Adams, Jr. and his wife Caroline of Shawnee, Kansas. Other survivors include a sister, Ann Adams Russell of Lawrence, Kansas and there are six grandchildren, Alexander Guinn, Grace Guinn, Colin McDonald, Kirsten McDonald, Andrew Adams, Paige Adams and Amanda Steffen.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a stepson, Craig Shaffer, and a brother Raymond E. Adams, Jr.
Memorial services will be held at 2:00pm Sunday, October 31, 2010 at the Adams Ranch, rural Meade. Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm Monday, at the Old Stone Church, Maple Hill, Kansas. Interment will follow in the Maple Hill (Old Stone Church) Cemetery, Maple Hill, Kansas.
David S. Adams was previously married to Kirsten Peterson of Topeka, Kansas.
Judith E. (Robert) Adams has remarried and continues to live on the Adams Ranch in Meade County, Kansas and also has a home in Texas.