Roy T. Sanford

Roy T. Sanford, 66, of Plymouth (formerly of Sudbury) died unexpectedly on Mt. Moosilauke in NH on Sunday, March 14th, 2021. He was the beloved husband of Mary Beth, to whom he was married to for thirty-eight years and the loving father to Chris, Ryan and Meghan. Born in Camden, NJ and raised in Palmyra, NJ, Roy was the son of the late Joseph Merritt Sanford and Josephine (Symington) Sanford. He is also survived by his two siblings: Janet Sanford of Lutherville, MD and Joseph Sanford of Willingboro, NJ. Roy attended Sacred Heart Grammar School and Holy Cross High School (Delran, NJ) before attending Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Roy’s first job when he graduated was with the Central Intelligence Agency in McLean, VA where he was a Naval Analyst with top security clearances. After two years post grad, the Agency suggested pursuing a doctoral program. Roy applied to John Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania. He was accepted at both but decided on Penn after being offered a scholarship and worked twenty hours a week consulting for the Wharton Applied Research Center. Roy graduated in less than two years with an M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in finance from the Wharton Business School. He decided not to go back to the government but pursue the high-tech market in Boston. Roy would spend the next thirty-six years working among leaders in that field: Data General, Bull HN, EMC, Stratus Technologies, and Rocket Software, starting as Director and rising to Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Sales and Marketing. He was especially proud of creating the first Software Alliance function for EMC and bringing Centera, the world’s first Content Addressed Storage (CAS) solution optimized for Active Archiving, to market.

Roy’s professional success was just a part of who he was. He was first and foremost a man who loved his family, who truly believed in the goodness of people and tirelessly worked for the benefit of others. Roy coached his children’s early soccer teams and was the “Chain Man” for their Pop Warner football games. He later helped coach the Baystate Jaguars AAU team and Lincoln-Sudbury Summer Basketball League with Steve Connelly. On any given weekend, he was seen cheering on his children’s sports teams into their adulthood. Roy was a board member for the Lincoln-Sudbury All Sports Boosters Club. He was Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Town of Sudbury and chaired the Finance Council and lectored at Our Lady of Fatima Parish. Roy was a Board Member and Treasurer for Chalice Canada, a multinational Catholic non-profit organization that helps children and families in fifteen developing countries. Roy was instrumental in moving Chalice USA forward and, at the time of his death, was working on supplying medical care to cancer patients in Cameroon.

Roy was an accomplished climber and member of the Ranier Mountaineering Inc. for decades. He summited the highest peaks on four of the seven continents with world renowned climber, Phil Ershler (Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Kosciuszko, and Denali).

And more recently, Roy and Mary Beth moved to the Vista Point community in Pine Hills. They were enjoying the “fruits of their labors” with all three of their children settled, living happy and successful lives in the Boston area. Roy immediately became active in the Vista Point community serving as the Chairman for the Landscape and Facilities Committee. He enjoyed cooking and planning future trips with Beth, golfing and hiking with Chris and Ryan, and watching old movies and sharing “witty Dad jokes” with Meghan. He was an incredibly honest and positively optimistic person…a true leader and mentor to all. Roy’s legacy is one of love, compassion, kindness, humor, and good will for everyone. He will be remembered for all the lives he touched.