Roberto U. Escobar

Roberto U. Escobar, 81, of Rockford, passed away on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Born on March 20, 1944, in Colombia, he was the son of Jose and Ana (Jimenez) Escobar. Roberto married Lydia Beightley on January 10, 1975, in Rockford. She predeceased him on March 22, 2015.

A longtime union employee and retiree of Valspar Paint Co., Roberto cherished time with his family. In retirement he enjoyed golf, sharing beers with his brother-in-law Jeff, and rooting for the Chicago Bears and Cubs. He looked forward each year to his winter trips to visit family in Colombia.

He is survived by his daughter, Natalie (Chris) Picchi; granddaughters, Ana and Amelia Picchi; siblings, Rubiela, Gladys (Fernando), and Fabio; his fiancé, Saribel; sisters-in-law, Rubiela, Viviana, and Michele Beightley; brothers-in-law, Neil Birkholtz, Peter (Diane Rapaport) Beightley, and Jeffrey Beightley; and many nieces and nephews he loved deeply. He was predeceased by his parents; siblings, Carlos, Jose, and Melida; brothers-in-law, Bernardo and Jim (Sherry) Beightley; and sisters-in-law, Leslie Birkholtz, Jane Beightley, and Andrea Sharp.