Q & A with Surry Roberts ’62
Surry Roberts ’62 had many great adventures as a DKE at UNC. His adventures continued after college and through to the present. Surry has traveled all over the world, committed to public service. And, he’s not done yet. In his latest adventure, he plans to open a Bed and Breakfast in eastern Tennessee to stimulate the Appalachian economy. Learn more about Surry and enjoy this brief Q&A, part of an ongoing series designed to help us get to know our brothers better. If you know a brother that would make a good profile subject, please send his name and graduation year, along with your name and grad year to our alumni relations service: [email protected]. Make sure to mention that it’s for Delta Kappa Epsilon, University of North Carolina.
Why did you join?
My brother was a member and six of my classmates from Episcopal High School also joined.
Tell us about your favorite memories of the fraternity.
German weekends; after two months in the fraternity, Hazel Zealy ’61 advising John O’Bannon ’62 and me to watch our drinking; rat courts during pledge training when Dickie Quick ’62 forgot that Charlotte has an E on the end; Haywood Holderness ’62 and Joe Friedberg taking on Hair Lipski and the campus police and curtailing exam pilfering from professor’s offices; barely missing a three-way tie for the 1961 intramural championship in all sports as the ZETs beat the DKEs by two points and the Phi Delts by five points; and when Tim Bernett ’62 and Reggie Fountain ’62 were inducted in the Careem Society.
Did you live in the house? If so, who were your roommates? Tell us about a memorable time with them.
I roomed in the house in 1959 and 1960 with Jim McGregor ’62 and Bud Ellerbe ’61 (who played shortstop for UNC in the College World Series). Bud and John Jester ’60 along with Tyler Shaffer ’64 and Mary Hunter Crogston arranged clandestine meetings in an abandoned house for amorous fraternity members with a hoard of onlookers.
What is your nickname, if applicable, and how did you get it?
Birdman. I’ve had it from earliest childhood and it was never forgotten by Donnie Cobb ’64 and my brother.
With whom do you still stay in contact?
I stay in contact with Donnie Cobb ’64, Fred Wood ’61, Jim McGregor ’62, Yates Palmer ’60 and most of my pledge brothers.
What other activities or organizations were you involved with during your college days?
Intramurals, Bean Birds, and Gorgan’s Head Lodge.
What kind of influence has the fraternity had on your life since graduation?
It means brotherhood not only with members during my time in college, but also in trying to rehabilitate the fraternity since 1988.
What do you do for a living?
I retired from my rheumatology practice in 1983. While I was practicing medicine, I worked in many places including Nepal, Australia, Vietnam, Jamaica, New Zealand, Hawaii, South Carolina, Virginia, California, Texas, and North Carolina.
What affiliations do you currently have and/or public service do you participate in?
I served with the US Army 5th Special Forces (Green Berets) in RVN in 1968-69 and presently sponsor three Montagnard families (refugees from the Central Highlands
of Vietnam). I’m on the Board of Directors for the Student Conservation Association; sponsor teams of international business students from the University of California Haas Business School to the Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, Mexico, and Cuba; on the Board of HavJazz, Inc., which sponsors Cuban-American educational music exchanges; and raised funds through the Rotary Club and oversaw construction of two Habitat for Humanity houses for Montagnard families. Other affiliations include the American and North Carolina Medical Associations; the American Rheumatism Association; Himalayan Club; Rotary Club; and Military Order of the Stars and Bars. I’m presently building an isolated destination resort in eastern Tennessee in order to stimulate handicrafts and tourist business in the heart of Appalachia.
What hobbies do you enjoy?
I enjoy travel, jogging, explorer Ernest Shackleton, and reading books on survival, exploration, and military history.
What are your goals for the next few years?
My main goal is to put Bed and Breakfast in eastern Tennessee into operation and stimulate tourism in the area.
Brothers may contact Surry at 919-828-2245 or by e-mail at [email protected].
