Janine (Jan) Roberts

November 15, 1946 - January 4, 2022

Jan Roberts, a beloved wife, sister, and friend to many and a longtime resident of Fairburn, GA, died at the age of 75 January 4, 2022 following an extended illness. Born November 15, 1946, to Charles and Mavis Causby in Highpoint, NC, Jan is survived by her husband of 54 years, Don Roberts, and a sister Melinda Canipe. After graduating from High Point Central High School, Jan was in the first class of women admitted to the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill. She later graduated from Guilford Technical Institute at the top of her dental assisting class, a field in which she worried for many years. Jan was a prominent instructor of Isshinryu Karate, practicing marital arts alongside her husband for more than 30 years, she did the photography and layout for eight books on Isshinryu Karate, which originated in Okinawa. One of those books now resides in the Okinawa section of the University of Hawaii library. Jan travelled with Don to Mar del Plata, Argentina, where she officiated in the world sport Jui Jitsu Championships. She was also certified to officiate in the amateur athletic union national karate championships. She served for more than two decades as secretary/treasurer of the Okinawan Karate Do Union, and later the traditional Okinawan Karate Association. Over the years she worked tirelessly to produce a high quality, informative, quarterly newsletter, bringing the origination into the computer age in the process. Jan’s influence stretched beyond the shores of this country, she went to both Hamburg, Germany, and Istanbul, Turkey, to help train women karate practitioners from Iran. Although she was hampered her whole life by serious health problems, hers was a life well lived.