Larry Roberts Death – The founder of R&L Carriers, a privately owned American freight shipping company based in Wilmington, Ohio, Ralph L. “Larry” Roberts, Sr., passed peacefully on March 19th, 2023, in Ocala, Florida, after a battle with dementia. He was 77 years old at the time of his death. He was dead through social media publication on Monday, March 20th, 2023. “It is a very sad day for all R&L Carrier employees as our founder and owner Ralph Larry Roberts has gone to heaven.”
Who was Larry Roberts Sr.?
Ralph L. “Larry” Roberts, Sr., affectionately referred to as “Senior,” was born on August 23, 1945, in Wilmington, Ohio. He was one of six children. On November 2, 1963, he wed Mary D. Snider, and they had three children together. He was a devoted father to Roby L. Roberts, Jr., Michelle Carpenter, and Ralph L. Roberts, Sr. Roberts assisted clients to carry furniture across town or across the county between working shifts at Irwin Auger Bit, according to a 1990 News Journal article.
About R+L Carriers, Inc.
Ronald L. Roberts and Ralph L. “Larry” Roberts I bought a single truck in 1965 and utilized it to transport furniture. Ronald L. Roberts resigned when the company was still known as R+L trucking because he was concerned he wouldn’t be able to visit his family. With the acquisition of intrastate and interstate permission from Mayflower Moving and Storage, the company expanded and changed its name to R+L Carriers, Inc. The Motor Carrier Act of 1980, which deregulated the trucking sector in the early 1980s, led to the incorporation of the business along with the creation of a new system that gave rise to R+L Transfer, Inc.
Although the original phase of the operation was limited to Ohio, it quickly spread to five other Midwestern and Southern states. The company expanded throughout the South after purchasing Gator Freightways, Inc. in May 1989. With the acquisition of Greenwood Motor Lines, Inc. in April 1992, growth kept going. With the acquisition of Texas-based carrier Herder Truck Lines, Inc. in March 1996, the company’s expansion accelerated.
R+L Carriers, Inc. Expansion, and Growth
In the following five years, New York City and 23 additional states received new terminals and services. Soon after, agreements to supply service to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and Puerto Rico were established, and entire coverage of New York State was attained. The introduction of six more Western states in 2003 and another in 2005 built on the expanded coverage in Western states to spur further expansion.
As operations got underway in Oregon and Washington in 2006, growth kept going. The expansion to northern California in the spring of 2007 marked the completion of the process. Service facilities were included in three significant markets: Fresno, Sacramento, and Oakland. With facilities in Fontana and Los Angeles, the west coast extension would shortly reach Southern California, providing coverage for the whole state. R+L Carriers average 45,000 shipments each day to these locations.
The family will release Larry Roberts’ obituary and funeral arrangements at a later date.
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