Country singer Randy Travis remembered his former stagehand Thomas Roberts late Monday, calling him a “gentle giant of a man that wore a constant smile on his face and carried a song in his heart.”
Roberts was fatally shot on Sunday night; Metropolitan Nashville police arrested his wife, Christine Ann Roberts, for the crime. Officers at the scene said that she “made spontaneous utterances that she had shot her husband because he had cheated on her,” NBC News reported.
The couple had been married since 1988, Roberts wrote last year on Facebook.
“The stage has gone dim with the passing of Thom Roberts,” Travis wrote on Facebook. “For many years, the Randy Travis band and crew had the opportunity to share the winding roads and the beautiful venues with one of the very best stage lighting technicians in the business. Thom not only had a magical sense about lighting a stage; but, he had a quiet, charismatic presence that ignited your soul.”
Travis continued, “He was a gentle giant of a man that wore a constant smile on his face and carried a song in his heart. One would search a lifetime to find a kinder, gentler spirit. Thom was my friend and I loved him dearly.”
The singer said that when he resumed the More Life Tour, “the music will not be near as sweet,” but called working with Roberts, “a blessing.”
Added Travis, “It certainly won’t be the same; and, I know I speak for the entire band and crew when I say the light that he truly created, in our hearts, will never be extinguished or forgotten. Tonight, I will look toward heaven and am sure I will see flashes of Thom’s handiwork in the night sky — letting us know he is home, and all is well.”
