Obituary: Wayne Roberts, 1944-2023 

• Courtesy
• Wayne Roberts

On October 13, after a glorious day visiting with his family, Wayne passed away at his home in the arms of his wife and love of his life. He was 79 years old.

Wayne was born on February 25, 1944, in Boston, to Phyllis Stockwell and Arthur William Roberts. They eventually settled in Lexington, Mass., and spent summers at their home in Jeffersonville, Vt. He graduated from Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass., and later from Babson College in 1964. He then attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and graduated in 1965 with his MBA.

Wayne started his career as part of the sales team at IBM in Washington, D.C., and in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1967, he married Nancy Weber, and they had three sons together, Weber, Morgan and Ethan. They divorced in 1981.

Also in 1967, Wayne lost his father to a sudden heart attack as he was embarking on a project to build an artist retreat near what is now the Smugglers’ Notch Ski Area. After his father’s death, Wayne and Nancy took over the project and created the Red Fox Ski Dorm. During the 1970s, they built the Salty Dog nightclub and steak house and the Brewster River Yacht Club Restaurant nearby.

Wayne continued to work for IBM and managed his businesses from afar, with the help of his wife on-site, until the mid ‘70s, when he settled with his family in Jeffersonville. He took a position at Johnson State College as an associate professor of business management. In 1979, he accepted the position as director of Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign in the state of Vermont. After Reagan’s election, Wayne became part of his transition team and was appointed Deputy Undersecretary of the Department of Education under Secretary Terrel Bell, where he helped develop the Presidential Fitness Award. During his years in government, he traveled the world extensively while representing the United States.

In 1986, Wayne returned to Vermont to be near his sons and took the position of president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, which he built into Vermont’s largest business member organization. It was during this time that Wayne met the woman who would become his life partner, Barbara Surprenant.

As president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wayne was involved with almost every issue important to Vermont. With keen acumen and organizational brilliance, he was an effective leader who brought meaningful change and positive impacts to our state. Some of his accomplishments include creating the Convention Bureau to promote the region and state as a meeting destination, creating Vermont’s first comprehensive business-focused government affairs and lobbying division, creating Leadership Champlain to develop young leaders in Vermont, creating the state’s first business-led Workforce Development and Education divisions to focus on building the workforce of the future and, again, traveling the world to promote Vermont’s economic interests.

Wayne lived a very active life outdoors in his beloved Vermont. He treasured Vermont’s natural resources and spent a great deal of time fly-fishing throughout the state and Canada. He traveled throughout the world fishing — tuna off Cape Cod, salmon in Brunswick, tarpon in the Keys, bonefish in Bonaire, trout in Montana — and for 36 years participated in the Lake Champlain International Fishing Tournament with his brother, David, and son, Morgan.

After his retirement in 2006, Wayne spent winters in Fort Myers, Fla., where he and his wife, Barbara, enjoyed their life together, returning to Vermont for summers. While in Florida, Wayne continued to spend countless hours exploring the mangroves, perfecting his angling and enjoying the tranquility of the Florida waterways. Wayne and Barb enjoyed hosting their children and grandchildren in Fort Myers so they could enjoy a reprieve from Vermont winters.

Wayne’s true passion was family and bringing all elements of his family together in any type of gathering was really important to him. Throughout his life, Wayne sought every opportunity to bring those he loved close to him and Barb.

Wayne is survived by his wife, Barbara Surprenant; three sons: Weber (Brooks Crane), Morgan and Ethan (Rebecca); and their mother, Nancy Weber; eight grandchildren, Aiden, Caellen, Asa, Zola, Kessler, Thira, Atalanta and August; his sisters, Patricia Christiansen and Pamela Beach (Charles Beach) and their son Brandon; his brother, David Lee Roberts (Judy Roberts); Barbara’s son, Chris Poirier, and wife, Donna, and their children, Joshua and Elizabeth, all of whom were an integral part of Wayne and Barb’s life together.

Services for the family to celebrate Wayne’s life will be held at a later date in Waterville, Vt. In lieu of flowers, please consider giving to Spectrum Youth & Family Services (spectrumvt.org).

Arrangements are in care of the Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To send online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.