Roy S. Lafferty

Roy S. Lafferty, age 96, passed away on June 26, 2019 in Rockledge, FL. Roy was born on March 17, 1923 in Landenberg, PA an adopted son of the late William and Marion Lafferty. He was one of several children that William and Marion adopted. Roy loved his adopted parents and siblings all of his life.

Roy grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. He disliked the String Beans on the farm so much that he joined the Army at 14 with his brother Jim. He served in the Army during World War II. He was assigned to the South Pacific Theater and was stationed in Australia. He and his Army buddies had a favorite lagoon where they went swimming. But they had to be careful of the crocodiles. One of their Army buddies got hurt at the lagoon and they had to leave him to get help. When they came back the buddy was gone without a trace never to be seen again. Roy had a horse in Australia. It was a common way to get around back then. He spoke of this horse most of his life.

Roy told us stories about the transport ship that took him to Australia. Most memorable was that it went through a Typhoon. He was one of the functioning people during the storm and he had to strap himself to his post so as not to be swept away while he was on watch.

Once Roy left the Army he married Dorothy Lebo. They had Four children; Judy Hunt of Mesa Arizona, David Lafferty of Lewes Delaware, Donna Herr of Rockledge Florida, and Laura Cook of Simpsonville SC. There are a total of four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Mr. Lafferty was employed by Boeing for 30 years. He retired in 1977 and soon after moved to Florida. He didn’t miss the winters that he left behind. Especially the winter when the snow plows at Boeing buried his white VW Bug in the parking lot under a pile of snow. Roy had to walk home that day in the snow.

Through his adult life Roy helped people and volunteered at Church. Roy began four Boys Brigade units in four different churches. The Boys Brigade was similar to the Boy Scouts, but with a larger emphasis on Christian principles. Roy was in several different choirs over the years. He really liked the Living Christmas Tree Choir that put people in the shape of a Christmas tree during the performance.

Roy enjoyed helping people fix things. He was always willing to lend a hand. He often got involved in car repairs and maintenance. He really enjoyed helping people with their cars.

Roy was also known as a Mr. Fix It and regularly helped the widows at church with their home repairs too.

Roy loved sweets and deserts. His favorite desert by far was Strawberry Short Cake.

Roy endured several progressively debilitating illnesses later in life. These illnesses had a profound effect on his physical abilities eventually leaving him mostly unable to do anything. Despite the steady decline of losing his ability to walk and eventually even talk he maintained true fight in his spirit. He was a real trooper and didn’t give up. No one gets to 96 years old if they give up.

A Funeral Service will be on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 11:00 AM at Brevard Memorial Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a Parkinson’s Charity of your choice.