Jim Roebuck speaking at a local event in 2012 (Photo West Philly Local)
UPDATE (5/31/24): Services for former State Representative Jim Roebuck, who passed away earlier this month, will be held Friday, June 7 at Calvary Center for Culture and Community, 801 S. 48th Street. Friends may call from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Alpha Phi Alpha will perform an Omega Service at 10:30 a.m., and the funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. Jim Roebuck will be interred next to his beloved wife Cheryl at Laurel Hill West Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA (Westlawn Lot).
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Garden Court Community Association’s Cheryl Roebuck Memorial Music Scholarship (P.O. Box 16654, Philadelphia, PA 19139, membership@gardencourtca.org) or to the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus’s James R. Roebuck Scholarship Fund (327 K. Leroy Irvis Office Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120).
5/16/24: We are sad to report that James R. “Jim” Roebuck, the former state representative from West Philadelphia, has passed away. He was 79.
Roebuck served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 188th District, which comprises many West Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia neighborhoods, from University City to Cobbs Creek and Kingsessing, from 1985 to 2020.
Roebuck was born in Philadelphia in 1945 and graduated from Central High School in 1963. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Union University and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He worked as an assistant professor of history at Drexel University from 1977 to 1984.
Roebuck won a special election on May 21, 1985 to represent the 188th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was then reelected 17 more times and served as state representative for the district for 35 years until he lost the primary election to the current office holder, Rep. Rick Krajewski, in 2020.
Roebuck was a longtime chairman of the House Education Committee and fought for full and fair funding for public education.
“Representative Jim Roebuck was a good man with a deep and unfailing commitment to public education, to his constituents, and to the city and commonwealth at large,” Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President, Jerry T. Jordan said in a statement.
Roebuck was a longtime Spruce Hill neighborhood resident and an active member of his community for many years.
May 16th, 2024 at 8:15 pm
He was dedicated to the life and spirit of his neighborhood. He devoted his career to the conscientious, detailed promotion of education for all in Pennsylvania, in an age when education was constantly in the eye of a storm of partisan politics.
May 17th, 2024 at 5:30 pm
Thanks for this post regarding James Roebuck. He has been a neighbor forever.
May 27th, 2024 at 12:08 pm
Jim and I were committeeperson partners from 1978 through much of the 1980s in the old 46th ward, 25th division. We met at the polls in 1978 running for committee person, and were both elected. Though our reform/liberal faction of the ward supported who we wanted to, we had good relations with the Blackwells and supported Lu for Mayor on the Consumer ticket in 1979. Jim was a consistent advocate for public education in Harrisburg, and you never had to worry about his support for LGBT+ issues. He usually had a history book under his arm!