Virgil Roberts (April 13, 1922 – April 6, 2011) was an American politician,

train dispatcher A train dispatcher (US), rail traffic controller (Canada), train controller (Australia), train service controller (Singapore) or signaller (UK), is employed by a railroad to direct and facilitate the movement of trains over an assigned territory, ...

, and farmer who served as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Early life

Born in

Mindoro, Wisconsin Mindoro is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, in the town of Farmington. It is part of the La Crosse Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the ...

, Roberts was rejected for military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

because of a heart defect.

Career

Roberts became interested in public service after taking a course at

Winona State University Winona State University (Winona) is a public university in Winona, Minnesota. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the first no ...

. He later served on the local school board. Roberts worked as a

and farmer. Later, Roberts served as a bank director. From 1971 to 1985 and 1987 to 1993, Roberts served as a member of the

. He was an unsuccessful nominee for the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

in the 1984 election. Roberts was a Democrat.

Death

He died on April 6, 2011, in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

, one week before his 89th birthday.Virgil Roberts, Wisconsin Historical Society
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Notes

1922 births 2011 deaths Dispatchers Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Farmington, La Crosse County, Wisconsin School board members in Wisconsin Winona State University alumni {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Democratic-stub