Kenneth E. Roy

Kenneth Eugene Roy was born to John Roy and Lottie (Bloomenshine) Roy in Salina, Kansas on May 19, 1927. Ken had an older sister, Virginia that died at birth, making him the only child. John and Lottie divorced a few years later and Ken and his mother moved to Big Bear Lake, outside of Orlando, Florida. After graduation from Orlando High they moved to Hastings, Nebraska, where his mother opened her own Nursing Home.

Shortly after the move, at the tail end of WWII, Ken joined the Navy, which he served 6 months until his Mother decided to pull him out. You could do that back then if you only had one child, but you could only do it once. It was then that Ken attended Hastings College and got his Bachelor's Degree in teaching. Shortly after that, he joined the Army and served in the 82nd Airborne Division for a year and a half. That was now the Cold War, or what also would be known as the beginning of the Korean War.

After receiving his honorable discharge, Ken returned to Hastings, where he found the love of his life, Eunice (Mills) Roy and married her on August 1, 1948. Eunice taught Grade School and Ken taught High School. In 1949, their first son, Randy was born. In 1951, there 2nd son, John was born and in 1953, their daughter, Dawn was born.

Ken taught school in both Kenesaw and Shelton, Nebraska, before moving the family to Omaha in 1957. It was then that he attended classes at UNO and received his Master's Degree. In Omaha, he taught Speech and English for 15 years at Technical High School, 7 years at the Individual Study Center and finished his last 10 years at Benson High School. After retiring, he taught several more years at both Iowa Western and Metro Community College before fully retiring.

Ken was a Boy Scout Leader, where both of his sons received their Eagle Badge. It's the highest rank or achievement in the Boy Scouts. His children shared “He was our mentor, our disciplinarian, our teacher, as well as a devoted father.”

Ken was also active in Toastmasters. Through this program, he won State and National contests, and then went to Internationals in Canada and placed 5th overall. He could captivate any audience. He was also a Shriner and in the clown division where he spent many occasions entertaining the young and old at the Shrine Circus here in Omaha.

After 30 plus years each of teaching, Ken and Eunice retired in 1987. They spent 11 days a year, of the next 18 summers vacationing in Sanibel Island, Florida. They were also fortunate to go on several cruises to Alaska and to Hawaii, however Sanibel remained their favorite place and their “home away from home”.

Ken took up wood working as a hobby after attending classes at Metro Tech. For the next 20 years, he constructed oak banks and attached the retired brass post office doors to them. They were sold at craft shows for 10 years and on eBay for 10 years. He was also proficient with the scroll saw and displayed his favorite pieces in his room at the Veteran's Home.

On August 28, 2012, Ken moved to the Assisted Living neighborhood of the Eastern Nebraska Veteran's Home. He so enjoyed the company of others his own age, as well as all the on-site activities and outings they provided, a favorite being BINGO. The food was a pretty nice perk too, he would say! His children and grandchildren visited often, so he was never without his immediate family.

Ken is survived by his 3 children: Sons: Randy, John and daughter in-law MaryPat and daughter Dawn, 4 sister in-laws, 3 brother in-laws, 6 grandchildren and spouses, 13 great grandchildren, with # 14 due in August, and 4 great great grandchildren.