ROY, Raymond Joseph
April 1, 1933 – March 15, 2014
We are sad to inform you that our beloved father, Ray Roy, passed away March 15, 2014 in Palliative Care at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. His family was by his side to see him on his way to his last journey. Ray is survived by his partner, Leona Smith; daughters, Beverley Whelan (LG), Jackie Lindsay (Dan), Michelle; and grandson Joe Whelan. We all loved him dearly and will miss him forever. He was a great father, who we could always count on to be there for all of us, whether it be fixing a bike tire, building a vegetable garden or falling trees.
Dad was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan into a family of 10 children to Joseph and Louisa Roy. Of those siblings, two sisters remain, Blanche O’Leary in Toronto and Cecile Roy in Saskatoon. Dad left Saskatchewan at the age of 16, to meet up with his brother Tom in Vancouver, to work in the Merchant Marines. From there he was involved in construction, where he was a part of the building of the Port Mann Bridge among others. During this time, he met our mother, Joan Nichols (Roy) and they started their family. After living in Squamish, Woodfiber and Castlegar, the family moved to Cedar in 1963. Dad studied to finish his high school diploma so that he could continue studying for his steam engineer tickets. During this time he and Mom worked hard building their dream home and raising their girls. Dad started work at Harmac where he remained until his retirement at the age of 60. While he loved his job and especially his crew at Harmac, he longed to be travelling and canoeing/kayaking and hiking. He and Mom belonged to the Nanaimo Paddlers Canoe/Kayak Club. They were on many trips together up and down the coast of BC as well as many trips abroad. Unfortunately, his battle with prostate cancer was the one thing he couldn’t beat. Most recently, Dad joined the Cancer Survivors Yoga Club and the Cancer Support Group at NRGH where he met many more new friends whom he treasured.
In 2009 Dad met up with long-time family friend, Leona Smith and they fell in love. They lived together in the best place on earth, on the waterfront in Nanaimo. They both loved to look out over the water at all the action. Dad and Lee also did some travelling to foreign lands as well as kayaking and hiking.
In lieu of flowers, a donation in Ray’s name can be made to the Palliative Care Ward at NRGH and addressed specifically: For the Benefit of the Nurses. These donations will go directly to the Palliative Care Department and the staff to decide where the funds will be most useful in their department where Dad and his family were treated so well by the Nurses and Dr. Spry.
A service, for Dad, will be held April 3rd from 1:00 to 4:00p.m. at the Cottonwood Golf Course, 1975 Haslam Rd., Cassidy, BC
(south of Nanaimo) Phone: 250-245-5157. Come join us in our tribute to Ray Roy. Send Condolences to the family at
telfordn@shaw.ca.