Robert Roeper, longtime Illinois Central Railroad employee, dies at age 83
BY NEIL STEINBERG Staff Reporter February 5, 2013 4:28PM
Robert N. Roeper
Updated: March 7, 2013 6:44AM
Robert N. Roeper was a railroad man — he worked for the Illinois Central Railroad his entire career — but he defined his life by the trinity of family, church and of course the Chicago White Sox.
Mr. Roeper, who lived most of his life the South Side and south suburbs, died Jan. 28 after a long illness. He was 83.
A graduate of Mt. Carmel High School and an Army veteran who was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky in the early 1950s, he worked nearly his entire career for the Illinois Central, first as an accountant and then as a systems analyst. He never missed a Sunday mass, whether he was at home or on vacation with his family, and he never missed a chance to express his pride and love for his children and grandchildren. And except for a few years living in Florida and northwest Indiana, he always lived in the Chicago area, never north of old Comiskey Park.
An avid reader who loved to do crossword puzzles in pen and write comments and questions in the margins of stories in the Sun-Times, Mr. Roeper also was passionate about his Chicago White Sox, college basketball, music, reading and history. He loved to tell stories about growing up in Chicago and he loved to hear stories about how his children and grandchildren were doing. He was attending Little League games in the 1970s and in the 2010s.
Mr. Roeper is survived by his wife of 56 years, Margaret; his children and their spouses: Lynn and Nick Zona; Bob and Colleen Roeper; Richard Roeper, the Sun-Times columnist; and Laura Roeper; his grandchildren: Sam Saunders, Laura Renee LeQuesne-Filipiak and her spouse, Tim Filipiak; John LeQuesne; Emily Roeper; Caroline Roeper; and Bobby Roeper; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other beloved family members.
