ARCOLA – U.S. Marine Cpl. Allen C. Roberts, 21, of Arcola, a member of Marine Attack Squadron 214, passed away late in the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, in a vehicle accident near Al Asad, Iraq.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, at Arcola High School, 351 W. Washington Street in Arcola. Pastors Barney Wells and Brandon Hatfield will officiate. Burial with full military rites will be in Arcola Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, at the high school. Edwards Funeral Home in Arcola has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Allen Christian Roberts was born May 27, 1986, in Tuscola. He was the son of Ronald Allen and Jaye (Strader) Roberts.

He is survived by his mother, Jaye Roberts of Arcola; his father, Ron Roberts and his friend, Kim Keefer, of Champaign; maternal grandmother, Jeanne Strader of Hindsboro; several aunts and uncles, Joella Glenn and her husband, Jerry, of Coal City, Janet Nacke and her husband, Bill, of Arcola, Carter "Corky" Strader and his wife, Paula, of Steven City, Va., Jeannine Bertsch and her husband, Rod, of Champaign, Joy Tuttle and her husband, Mike, of Springfield, Lee Roberts and his friend, Debbie Dorsey, of Rantoul, Larry Roberts and his wife, Sherry, of Champaign, Jerry Roberts and his wife, Bunnie, of Camargo, Kenny Roberts and his wife, Kathy, of Cheyenne, Wyo., and Paula Griffith and her husband, Rick, of Champaign; several cousins; a special friend, Katrina "Kat" Chavez of Yuma, Ariz.; and his dogs, Jaeger and Stella.

His paternal grandparents, Almond "Bill" and Bernadine Roberts; maternal grandfather, Allen C. Strader; and one aunt, Nedra Meade preceded him in death.

As a Marine, Allen won several awards for his military service, including the Iraq Campaign Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Expedition Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Medal.

Allen was a 2004 graduate of Arcola High School, where he was on the football and basketball teams, yearbook staff, drama club and AFS. As a youth, he was a member of the Boy Scouts. Allen loved cars and was an avid movie fan, knowing many of the characters and memorizing many of the lines from his favorite movies. He was a member of Walnut Grove Christian Church of Arcola.

Memorials may be made to the Allen Roberts Memorial Fund, c/o Arcola Foundation; Walnut Grove Christian Church of Arcola; or Arcola Boy Scouts, Troop 88. For more information or to sign the online guestbook, please visit www.EdwardsFH.net.