PORTLAND — Richard Roberts Jr., 78, of Dixfield, died Monday, Jan. 8, at Maine Medical Center in Portland due to injuries sustained in a fire at his home in December.

He was born in New York on May 9, 1939, the son of Richard R. and Mary Elizabeth Bever Roberts and attended New London, Conn., schools and also graduated from UMF in 1988. He was a veteran of the United States Navy and worked at Winchester Manufacturing for many years as a supervisor. On Nov. 24, 1979, he married Jean Christine “Jeanne” Buchanan in Old Lyme, Conn., and they moved to Dixfield where they ran a foster home for children and had several other small businesses. She died March 25, 2010. Mr. Roberts was a member of the Masons and several veterans’ organizations, and had served on the Dixfield Finance Committee.

He is survived by a nephew, Jeff Haydon, and his wife, Sharon; a grandnephew, Roger Charlton and his wife, Jackie, of Somerset, U.K.; several other nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Condolences and tributes may be shared on his memorial wall at www.wilesrc.com.