 Unsurprisingly, in his eighties Roberts's draughtsmanship deteriorated, but he continued working until the end – "Donkey Rides" was "pinned to his drawing board on the day on which he died [20 Jan. 1980]".Sarah Roberts died in 1992 and her and William's son, John, died two and a half years later, intestate.John had set up the family house, 14 St Mark's Crescent, as a "house museum" with a changing selection of his father's paintings on show to friends.