But in 1962, that changed when Davis Love III designed and built Atlantic Dunes, the first course on Hilton Head. Vaux drove daily from Sea Pines to Beaufort High School, still segregated until his graduation in 1964. After receiving his degree in Accountancy at the University of South Carolina, Vaux decided to take the LSAT in 1968 and was accepted into USC’s School of Law. He got sick though and couldn’t start on time in his first fall semester. To pass the time, he took a job as the Assistant Director of Golf for the inaugural Heritage Tournament and traveled around the world to research prominent golf events. In 1969, he saw Arnold Palmer win the Heritage’s 1st Tournament.

In 1972, after finishing las school, Vaux became an attorney with Hendrix and Hendrix. And in 1973, on a Tuesday before Thanksgiving, he opened his own firm in the DeVries building on Hilton Head, a quadraplex on Palmetto Bay Road shared by Kinghorn Insurance, LaMar Acuff Builders and Tom Wamsley, Co-Founder of the Island Packet. Adrienne Marscher was an insurance agent at Kinghorn, and her son, Rick, would eventually become Vaux’s clerk and later partner in the firm. Mark Berglind and Vaux’s son, Tabor, would also follow as partners. The local attorneys at Vaux Marscher Berglind, P.A now have more than 100 years of experience.

In the early 1970’s Arthur Horne asked Vaux to head up the Emergency Preparedness Division in Beaufort County. At the time, there were no paid ambulance drivers commuting to southern Beaufort County, only volunteers. With Vaux’s lead, both ends of the county merged EMS groups and were able to successfully transport all citizens by creating the Beaufort County Emergency Medical Services Commission. Vaux also was an integral Board of Trustees Member at Beaufort Memorial Hospital and became Chairman in 1984. For years, Vaux traveled daily to Beaufort attending to hospital business, helping a friend who’d recently had a stroke run his car dealership and still practicing law full time. Vaux was instrumental in approving the creation of the Beaufort Hospital Foundation led by Susie Davis and Weezie Gibson and also in creating Broad River Healthcare.

Roberts met his wife, the former Mary Bolen, when he took colleagues to play golf at Moss Creek. She worked in Public Relations for the development. Bolen asked the three (Vaux, Charlie Simons, a federal judge and Griffin Bell, Attorney General) to pose for a photo. Vaux had assumed Simons was dating her, but he was not. The rest was history. They married and later had four children, Mary, Emily, Tabor and Anna.

Though law and philanthropy are significant priorities, golf remains Vaux’s favorite pastime. In 1979, the United States Golf Association presented the Junior Amateur Championship at Moss Creek. Residents hosted players, and four young golfers stayed at the Vaux’s home. One was Nathaniel Crosby, the son of the legendary Bing Crosby. The younger Crosby would go on to host his own tournament, the Bing Crosby Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, CA. Vaux had the privilege of playing in the tournament for four years and even finished 4th Place in 1986 when he played with CBS golf announcer, Gary McCord

Vaux has played on courses all over the world. In fact, in 2019, he was invited to play at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland after two strangers noticed his Secession Golf Club hat and had an affiliation with Mike Harmon, the Old Pro at Secession. St. Andrews is considered the oldest course in the world and commonly known as, “The Home of Golf.” Secession is Vaux’s favorite course in Beaufort County with Chechessee Creek a close second. The conditions of the courses and the benefit of caddies makes them distinctively at the top of his list. The only course he has not played in Beaufort County is at Bray’s Island.

In addition to being founder of Hilton Head Island Bar Association and former Assistant Solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit, Vaux is committed to mentoring young attorneys as he was mentored by the likes of Chief Justice Juluis Ness, Lt. Gov. Brantley Harvey, Legare Rodgers and Joab Dowling. “Law is a noble profession, and it’s been good to me. I believe in teaching others the importance of public service and giving back,” says Vaux.

In addition, Vaux believes attorneys have an obligation to the people. “I don’t like sloppy legal work, and I definitely don’t like the judicial system being used for ulterior purposes,” he insists after seeing it a few times in his career. Vaux remembers the late 1970’s as an era of a man’s word. He recalls Pete Fuge getting appointed to a murder case, and the state would not reimburse him for his expenses. All members of the Beaufort County Bar chipped in to help. “That’s when I knew all members of the bar. Today I might know half of them,” he laughs.

Roberts Vaux had all of the qualities of an attorney, and he became a successful one indeed. Today, Vaux is semi-retired, taking the month of January and one month in the summer off to either play golf or visit with one of his 10 grandchildren, ages 5-12 who all live in Bluffton. “We have a gingerbread house making party every year, and none of my kids are invited. Only the grandkids,” smiles Vaux.
Vaux defines commitment…to his family, to his profession, to his community and to his own passion. He is a true steward of humanity, and we thank him for his many years of service to Beaufort County.