Roberts’ final act in protest of Fort Bliss xeriscaping
Longtime City representative and civic activist Stan Roberts, who died last week at the age of 87, will not be buried in El Paso.
According to his obituary, Roberts, who was a retired U.S. Army first sergeant and represented Northeast El Paso on City Council from 1991-99, chose to be buried at the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston.
His obituary in the El Paso Times reads: “An activist to the end, in protest to the conversion of Fort Bliss National Cemetery to xeriscaping, Stan’s final act is to have his body interred under the green grass at the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston. He made the choice to be buried 500 miles away from the community he loved and served for so many years in an effort to affect change.”
The grass was removed from the cemetery in 2007. Since then, veterans across the Borderland have fought to bring it back.
UTEP geological professors volunteered their time to research the land. Turns out, their findings revealed salt in the soil, which can make it more difficult to grow grass. The Fort Bliss Cemetery Committee was scheduled to review the findings last month and decide how to move forward with this new obstacle to bring back the grass.
