FIRST PART FROM HAISTEN WITH GLOVER FUNERAL HOME
Being in the funeral service profession, I have helped prepare hundreds of obituaries. While given the information directly from their loved ones and at their direction, something that is such a standard part following the death of a loved one, how in just a few paragraphs, and it is often used as a reminder of the life and legacy of that persons life. Today, I have anxiously awaited for Will’s obituary to be updated, as if we didn’t already know the things we were going to read. Whoever prepared this below did a tremendous job, although Will helped write it the past 15 years, as you’ll see below, this isn’t just his “obituary”, it truly is the “Life of Will.” Over the last few days, my feed has been flooded with post from not only here in my small corner of the world in Southeat Alabama, but literally all over the world. I have read countless post and comments of complete strangers who have shared how Will impacted their life. There is no doubt, Will has touched so many lives in his brief 15 years, without ever even having to meet 1% of them, while I never knew him, he definitely touched mine. I pray for peace and comfort for the family, close friends, and those who may have been touched by his time here on earth, additionally, I pray for my fellow funeral service profession colleagues who have had the honor of being apart of his final services.
“The hour is dark, And it’s hard to see, What You are doin’ here in the ruins And where this will lead, Oh, but I know, That down through the years I’ll look on this moment and see Your hand on it And know You were here”
The Life of Will
Some people measure a life by the number of years lived. If that were true, you would miss the story of William Britton Roberts entirely. Will packed more life into fifteen years than many people do in a lifetime. He loved Jesus. He loved his family. He loved hunting before daylight, fishing until dark, getting muddy, making people laugh, and asking questions that usually left everyone else wondering how in the world he came up with them. He never met a stranger, and somehow people were drawn to him from the moment they met him. He had a smile that could change the atmosphere of a room and a heart that made everyone feel important.
On January 9, 2025, Will was diagnosed with Stage IV osteosarcoma. Most people would say that cancer changed his life. The truth is that cancer revealed it. The world got to see what those closest to him had known all along; that courage isn’t loud, strength isn’t measured by muscles, and joy isn’t dependent on circumstances. Will endured surgeries, months of chemotherapy, radiation, countless hospital stays, and treatments that took him more than two thousand miles away from home. He learned to walk again after losing his leg to cancer, never allowing what he had lost to determine who he would become. His journey eventually led him to California, where God wrote chapters none of us could have imagined. Through Will’s life, strangers became family, doctors became friends, nurses became heroes, and hundreds of thousands of people around the world stopped what they were doing to pray for a little boy they had never met. That wasn’t coincidence; that was purpose.
Will never stood behind a pulpit, yet he preached one of the most powerful sermons many people will ever witness. His life reminded us to laugh often, love deeply, trust God completely, and never waste the gift of today. Cancer never won. It stole time, took comfort. took a leg, took his breath but it never took his smile, his faith, or the victory that belonged to Jesus Christ.
On July 23, 2026, held by his parents, Will stepped from the arms of his family into the arms of his Savior. The body that had fought so hard was finally made whole. The little boy who once dreamed of running on two legs again now runs without pain, without cancer, and without limits.
Will leaves behind his parents, Jason and Brittney Roberts; his little sister, Charlie, his many grandparents, along with a large family and countless friends whose lives will forever carry pieces of him.
Will was preceded in death by his baby sister, Darby Kate Roberts, who passed away May 26, 2013.
His family would like to thank every person who prayed, visited, encouraged, donated, and stood beside them throughout this journey. Every act of kindness became part of Will’s story.
If you wish to honor Will, don’t simply remember how he died. Remember how he lived. Go fishing. Take your kids hunting. Laugh until your stomach hurts. Tell someone about Jesus. Love your family fiercely, and when life gets hard, fight with everything you’ve got and never waiver in your faith. That’s exactly what Will did. His story did not end here. It simply continues where there is no more pain, no more tears, and no more cancer.
Pallbearers will be Tyler Rivera, Keith Johnston, Colby Wilson, Russell Andrews, Dexter Roberts, Jack Sanderson, Cooper (Little Buddy) Gradwell, Brock Roy, Greyson Miller, Brody Smith, Noah Isaacs, Crosby Smith, and Briar Chambless.
The family would also like to recognize as honorary pallbearers: Dr. James Flint of the University of California San Diego, whose compassion and unwavering support meant more to our family than words can express; the physicians, nurses, and staff of Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama; MD Anderson Cancer Center of Houston, Texas; Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California; the Sarcoma Oncology Center of Santa Monica, California; the faculty, staff and students of Sipsey Valley Middle School; our Alabama Law Enforcement Agency family along with federal, state, and local law enforcement officers who have supported our family; the countless prayer warriors who faithfully carried us through this journey; and every childhood cancer warrior who continues the fight.
Public Visitation will be 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Saturday, August 1, 2026, at the Shelton State Community College Gymnasium, 9500 Old Greensboro Rd., Tuscaloosa, AL 35405, with funeral services immediately following at 12:00 p.m. Burial will be in Wesley Chapel Cemetery, 15882 Wesley Chapel Rd., Ralph, AL 35480, with Magnolia Chapel South directing.
