Kilpatrick Funeral Home Ruston, LA Dr. Edmund Nelson “Buzzy” Roots Jr. was born in Galveston, TX, in 1927, but grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. Following in his father's footsteps, he went to Texas A&M to become a Texas Aggie to the core. “Gig'em!” After graduating A&M, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corp stationed in Germany. He returned to Texas A&M to teach and earn his MS in Electrical Engineering. He taught for three years at Mississippi State University, while earning his PhD in Electrical Engineering. In 1967, he moved his family to Ruston, LA, to teach at Louisiana Tech University for 33 years. He was passionate about teaching and was known to be a tough but fair professor. He earned the Big Red “A' award from his students multiple times. He taught his students the skills they would need after graduating. Those skills not only included engineering knowledge but communicating ideas and solutions. His students learned to document not only their successes, but also their failures. One of his last projects at Tech was working with the Mechanical Engineering Research Team in converting a 1967 Ford Mustang into an electric car. Upon moving to Ruston, the Roots family joined Trinity United Methodist Church. Buzzy worked with the church youth program for several years, and helped create the clown ministry. One of his favorite sayings was “smile, Jesus loves you and so do I.” He enjoyed walking in parades to, “clown around for the LORD.” He was preceded in death by his wife Norma Goff Roots, his son Dennis, and is survived by five children David, Dianne, Daniel, Dirk and Donna, ten grandchildren Christine, Elizabeth, Joshua, Heather, Laura, Danielle, Norah, Spencer, Alec, and Mason & seven great-grandchildren Taylor, Kassidy, Bailee, Aaron, Rachel, Donovyn, Dyanna. A viewing and services will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church in Ruston, LA, on Saturday, April 30, 2011, at 10:00 / 11:00 am under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home in Ruston, LA. In Lieu of flowers the family request that donations be made in his name to the following: Louisiana Methodist Children's Home P. O. Box 929 Ruston, LA 71270 https://www.churchwerks.com/myWebSite/lmch/default.cfm?PID=1.2 Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com