Charles Edward Roberts III

Charles Edward Roberts III (Rob,) 45, of Glen Ridge, NJ, entered into eternal rest on May 11, 2020 at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City. He leaves behind a wife, Alice (nee: Baker) and three children, Shea, 15, Natalie, 12, and Gavin, 10 as well as his parents, Dotty Roberts and Ned (Charles Edward Roberts, Jr) of Waretown, NJ., mother-in-law and father-in-law, Elizabeth and Paul Baker of Glen Ridge, NJ, his sister, Kara Brennan of Millington, his former brother-in-law, Christian Brennan of Gillette, NJ, his nephews, Tucker and Patrick, and his niece, Molly, also of Millington,  as well as many loving uncles, aunts and cousins.
Rob’s dream was to become a police officer. He fulfilled that wish and spent his entire career on the Glen Ridge Police Department, working first as a dispatcher starting in June 2000, and then as a police officer. Assigned badge 69, he was currently the senior most patrol officer in the department. Rob was a DARE/LEAD officer, a Special Olympics torch run participant and a bicycle officer He was the only active member of the department who currently was working for the GRPD while living and raising his family in Glen Ridge. He was the unofficial mayor of our small borough.
He met his wife at a police/ teacher basketball fundraiser held in Glen Ridge where Alice teaches 4th grade and told his mom, Dotty, during that event, “That’s the woman I am going to marry”.
As a child, Rob had lots of energy and many friends. He had an open, friendly way with everyone. He would see a group of guys playing basketball or roller hockey and not hesitate to ask if he could join them. Rob had a great sense of humor. He could make ordinary things seem funny and would frequently poke fun at himself.
After graduating from Livingston High School in 1992, Rob worked at Du Brow’s Garden Center and later in life used that knowledge to identify and plant plants and flowers including an extensive butterfly garden in his yard for his children. An avid Mets fan, Rob said he always wanted to sit so close at a game to be able to put his beer on the dugout roof. He loved hockey, baseball and the beach, the Devils, Jets and Mets, and spent many summer days in LBI and later on Cape May.
Nothing made Rob happier than coaching and cheering for his kids and their teammates in various sports such as baseball and soccer. Being sensitive to kids’ feelings, and never raising his voice on the sidelines, he made kids know he believed in them. He took delight in watching his three children develop their skills in various sports such as soccer, horseback riding, baseball and basketball. He would tell his own kids that the most important award he won when he was a child was the one that lists “integrity, character, loyalty, diligence, team spirit and will to win” despite his only playing a few minutes that whole basketball season as a middle schooler.
Rob delighted in driving around with his Jeep top off, playing the radio and waving as he drove around town. His early morning kayak trips with his two friends were planned so he could still get home before the kids would wake up so the family could spend the day together. He had a few kitchen specialties too; friends would ask him to make his delicious mulligatawny soup or his Bolognese sauce.
On the last night of his life, he was stargazing and building a hockey shooting game for his son. Always eager to work overtime, he was never too busy to help a friend or family member.  In Rob’s words, “It’s not goodbye. It’s see you later.”
Funeral Services have been entrusted to the Levandoski- Grillo Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Bloomfield, NJ. Levandoskigrillo.com. Funeral Services were held on Thursday, May 14, 2020 in front of Glen Ridge Borough Hall, 825 Bloomfield Ave., Glen Ridge, NJ. Cremation private at Rosedale Crematory, Orange.
The Funeral Service was live streamed on the official “Borough of Glen Ridge, New Jersey” Facebook Page.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Steven Siller Tunnel To Towers Foundation
(www.tunnel2towers.org) or the Glen Ridge PBA Local 58 Roberts Fund PO Box 61, Glen Ridge, NJ 07028.