William “Bill” Carrol Roberts, 82, a resident of Rutledge, passed away peacefully at Troy Regional Medical Center on Saturday, April 20. Funeral services for Bill will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, from the Chapel of Turners Funeral Home with Rev. Cary Maulden officiating. Interment will follow in Siloam Cemetery with Turners Funeral Home of Luverne directing.

Bill was famously known as the “Bread Man” to everyone along his route for 38 years, first with Colonial Bread and later with Sara Lee. Along the way, he earned more friends than he could possibly count and brought a whole lot of his heart and soul to everyone he met over those decades. He was an easy person for everyone to love as his genuinely good heart was evident to all who met him. In his free time, there was nothing Bill loved doing more than hunting or finding a good spot along the Alabama River to catch and cook a few fish with family and friends. He was a simple man who knew the joy of the simple pleasures in life…a good thing when you could pinch a penny within an inch of his life like Bill could! He also proudly served with the Alabama National Guard for several years. He was a huge football fan as well, especially the Alabama Crimson Tide, but there was no team he’d rather cheer for than his grandson’s high school team!

Bill opened his heart and home to so many over the years and always led by his own example of good, honest hard work and love for his fellow man. He absolutely loved his family with every fiber of his being, but those who called him “Paw Paw,” all of his beloved grandchildren, were probably just a little bit extra special to him. They all knew they could depend upon his good sense of humor and willingness to go along with whatever they wanted to do to guarantee a good time was gonna be had whenever Paw Paw was around. More than anything, they knew his patient and forgiving nature would always be there for them to lean upon. He was certainly the rock his family was built upon over the years and he was absolutely loved beyond measure by all of them.

Bill was preceded in death by his daughters, Rachel Roberts and Katie Gunter; parents, Buddy and Era Mae Schultz Roberts; and brother, Emory Roberts. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Patsy Johnson Roberts; children, Ricky (Angie) Roberts and Sara Lynn (Bill) Marcum; grandchildren, Terri Lynn (Scott) Morse, Allison (Jake) Page, Allyn Riley, Kaitlin Smith, Jonathan Thomas, Keisha Thomas, Justin Thomas, Jason McMillan, and Avery (Tyler) Massey and several great-grandchildren.

Active pallbearers will be Jason McMillan, Justin Thomas, Jonathan Thomas, Dusty Jordan, Dustin Jordan, and Bo Mount. Honorary pallbearers were Harley Hall, Billy Joe Wolfe and Charles Mount.