Obituary of Roger W. Roy

Mr. Roger W. Roy, age 83, passed away unexpectedly on January 5th, 2015 at St Elizabeth Medical Center. He was born in the town of Lorraine NY on May 5th, 1931 the son of the Reverend Paul A. Roy and Wilma Moore Roy. Growing up as the son of a Pastor, he lived in North Country communities while his mother and father served many churches they were appointed to. He was a hard worker from the start. At 13 years old he began repairing old radios for himself and soon found a market for the trade as neighbors sought him out to repair their radios. This was the start of his long career and hobby of electronics. Roger's family moved to Utica in the late 1940's when his father was appointed to the Central Methodist Church as its Pastor. Upon graduating from Utica Free Academy, Roger attended Utica Tech school and majored in Electrical Engineering. On December 11th, 1954 he married Florence E. Bickford of Utica, a cherished union that lasted 60 years. Roger became a pioneer in the new industry of Television, designing antennas and repairing the new TV sets for customers. He became known in the Utica area as the "Eyewitness Serviceman" for Cunningham Television and was often featured in advertisements for his ability to repair your TV while you watched. As the television repair industry began to wind down, Roger found a career in the aviation industry with Empire and Piedmont Airlines. Roger proved his unswerving ability to repair electronic equipment by becoming certified to maintain complex aircraft radar and communication systems. Roger was an accomplished private pilot, a hobby he shared with his wife Florence who has also been a pilot for many years. Many a weekend, they flew around the Mohawk Valley while spending time with their friends at the Riverside and Highland Airports. Aside from being a pilot, he was his own chief mechanic proving his ability by rebuilding his own aircraft. At the urging of his grandson, Roger attained his Ham Radio license. Roger was an avid Amateur Radio enthusiast with the call sign of KC2JEF. He shared this hobby with his son David (N2SMJ) and grandson and was a member of the Madison Oneida Amateur Radio Club for many years. Roger attended and enjoyed many hamfests with his friend Ed Prior. Roger will be remembered for his uncanny ability to fix anything including doors, cars, radios, televisions, and just about anything that screwed together. Family often thought if he had worked for NASA, we would have been on the moon a year earlier. To friends he was simply "Rog". To customers he was "The wizard of television". To us he was dad, to mom a loving husband, and to all of us the one and only "big as life" patriarch. Roger is survived by his loving wife Florence, son David and daughter-in-law Suzanne(who cared for his medical needs); son, Daniel; two grandchildren, a grandson and a granddaughter, Diana (Micaela), and one great grand-daughter. He was predeceased by his sister, Virginia Poppleton and leaves several nieces and nephews. Roger also leaves his neighbor Ken Carboni whose help and companionship was greatly appreciated. The family would like to thank Dr. Naji Elkhoury, Kunkel Ambulance, Utica Fire Department, St Luke's and St. Elizabeth hospitals for their care of Roger. Calling hours will be at the Heintz Funeral Home, 408 Herkimer Road in North Utica at 4pm on Monday, January 12th 2015 followed by a memorial service at 5pm. A spring interment will be held at Crown Hill Memorial Park in Kirkland. Those wishing to make a donation in Roger's memory, please consider the American Heart Association.

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Roger Roy, please visit our Tree Store