Roy Moorhouse passed away peacefully on July 3, 2017. He was 94 years old. Roy was born February 14, 1923 in Milnrow, Lancashire, England to Mary and Herbert Moorhouse. Roy often spoke of growing up in Rochdale and his fond memories of both his older brother, Leonard and his hobbies of swimming, badminton and tropical fish society membership. Later, Roy also took to cycling, quickly becoming an avid cyclist. Roy recounted numerous times of how he so enjoyed riding his custom-built Hobbs of Barbican racing bicycle from Rochdale to the coast and back covering a distance of 150 miles in a day! Life wasn’t all play as a young man. Roy was first introduced to the printing industry at 16, as he started his apprenticeship at the Rochdale Observer as a linotype operator. Roy fought in WWII and on his 18th birthday, Roy enlisted in the Royal Air Force. For two years Roy stayed in England and was a member of the ground crew working on Avro Lancaster Bombers. His official title was Leading Aircrafts Mechanic and Radio Operator-Mechanic. He was not only a top notch radio repair technician, but he also became proficient in Morse code, semaphore flags and aldis lamp. During his service, Roy spent time overseas in Burma-now Myanmar- where he lived in the jungle maintaining the bombers and their communications systems. Roy had many fascinating stories of life in the jungle. After meeting his soon-to-be wife, Joan Buckley, Roy left England in 1954 to follow her to the United States. He sailed on the SS Franconia into New York Harbor and a year later, Roy and Joan were married in Seattle where they lived for many years. During this time, they experienced the birth of their twins-Diane and David. Roy resumed his printing career in Seattle as a linotype operator at Pacific Typesetting Company and later at Queen City Typesetting. He also worked in Bellevue for Fiserv, in their photographic dark room. Roy and Joan later retired to Phoenix, Arizona where Roy fell in love with the desert heat and cactus blooms. There wasn’t anything he didn’t like about Arizona and he told us so repeatedly. He has many fond memories of his friendly neighbors, his home and the bright blue skies. Roy moved back to Seattle after the passing of his wife in 2011 and moved into Daystar Retirement Village in West Seattle. Daystar became his cherished home for over six years. Roy is preceded in death by his wife, Joan Moorhouse and survived by his son David Moorhouse, daughter Diane Boman, son-in-law Gary Boman, niece Hazel Thornton, and nephews Jeff and Philip Leise. Roy was known for his love of conversation, his keen sense of humor, and storytelling. The stories have silenced but the memories live on. We all miss him greatly. The family would like to thank Daystar for providing a positive and supportive home for Roy these past six years. Daystar’s activities brought fun and laughter into Roy’s life and the staff treated him as family. Roy meant it when he said Daystar was “home-sweet-home”. The family would also like to thank Providence Hospice of Seattle for their professionalism, guidance and care. Words can’t express what a blessing all of you were to the family and to Roy. A private service at Forest Lawn Cemetery and a Celebration of Life service at Daystar Retirement Village will be held on August 29, 2017. In lieu of flowers, donations made to Providence Hospice of Seattle would be greatly appreciated.
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