Steve Roberts Remembered as a "Special Kind of Teacher"

Five years ago, Steve Roberts jumped off a plane and fell through the sky at speeds upwards of 120 mph. While falling, he conducted a brief science experiment. The Staples High School physics teacher just couldn't resist indulging in his passion as he plummeted towards the ground.

"You get to the edge [of the plane] and your mind is saying 'don't go' but your heart is telling you 'go'," he told his wife, Debra. She paid for the skydiving as a birthday gift. He liked it enough to go a second time.

Steve, who taught at Staples for several years, died Sunday during what appeared to be a routine procedure at a New Haven hospital. He was 43 years old.

There will be no wake. Instead, there will be a celebration of life. Because he was a man who saw the value of each moment after fighting through cancer three separate times, he would have preferred it that way. 

As a teacher, Steve was known for his uncanny ability to reach students regardless of their interest in science. He was going to teach on Sept. 1 – the first day of school. Instead, a moment of silence was held in his memory during the first morning announcements of the new school year.

"In a school like Staples, the high level courses are highly sought after from teachers because you end up with students who are just excellent," said A.J. Scheetz, the science department's curriculum coordinator. "It takes a special kind of teacher to have those skills and to have the skills to teach the kids who don't like physics or are afraid of it."

Steve had that gift even though he originally had a different career path in mind. He majored in civil and architectural engineering at Drexel University, but eventually decided to teach. It wasn't a difficult decision since it ran in his family. His grandmother taught it a one-room schoolhouse in Vermont and his mother was a kindergarten teacher.

As he was wrapping up his certification, he went to East Haven High School looking for work. He was offered a job on the spot after meeting with the principal. The school's physics program had disappeared the year before he got there. His passion for the material and popularity as a teacher brought a 250 percent enrollment increase in physics courses within just a couple years. He rebuilt the lapsed program from the ground up.

Eventually, he found his way to Westport, where he learned from the tutelage of others. He was always looking for new ways to reach students and appreciated all the knowledge he received from veteran teachers. At Westport, he was truly happy.

"He loved it," said Debra, his wife. "I had a hard time getting him to leave work. He loved the students. He would meet them before school, after school, in the morning, the evenings and the weekends. Whatever they needed"

Steve was as passionate about his friends and family as he was about teaching.

"For Steve, the bottom line to life was all about friends, family and his community," Debra said.

She said that he had that philosophy since he was a young boy. She knew him when he was 14 years old and they married years later. This year was their 20^th anniversary. They had four sons.

His hobbies varied, from yoga to board games. He was a big-time foodie and loved to cook for others. He was also a proud Vermonter. Stony Brook, a part of Branford, appealed to him as a place to live because of the similarities it shared with his home state.

"I was continually amazed by him," said Scheetz. "He had so many stressors in his life, but the second he walked into class he was cool as a cucumber."

A scholarship in his name is in the works, according to Scheetz.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Roberts Boys Trust at W S Clancy Brandford Funeral Homes, 504 Main St. Branford, CT 06405 or the American Cancer Society, 538 Preston Ave., PO Box 1004, Meriden, CT 06450.