Roy & his car "Lonely Blue Boy"
Roy loved cars & racing
Roy & Lee Blair
Clyde has often talked of how Roy looked out for him & JR when they were growing up and Roy's love of cars was a major influence on Clyde. After Clyde got out of the Army, we moved to Michigan and my Dad was able to get him a job at Ford Motor Co., a fitting place for a man whose greatest hobby was cars ... working on them at home and driving them to see what would make them break as a test driver at work. Clyde was the afternoon Superintendent at Ford's when he retired in 2005. We wish Roy could have lived long enough to see what his influence on this one nephew lead to.
Roy worked at what he loved ... driving and fixing cars. The business he & his friend Ray Caudill started all those years ago is still operating and still carries the name Roy & Ray's Auto Service. Roy died very unexpectantly of a heart attack on June 5, 2001. His death was so sudden and such a shock that at times it's difficult to realize he's gone. Getting the phone call from Aunt Sue that morning was one of the hardest we've ever received.
Knowing Roy was an adventure and a blessing. He could be brutally honest and he could be difficult at times; but underneath all that toughness there lived a man who loved his wife and daughter. He was a man who would do most anything for a friend and a good, cold beer tasted pretty good after a hard day's work. He enjoyed Nascar, drag racing and horse shows. He was proud of Mary and her ability to ride as she did and he and Sue were avid supporters of Mary and her riding in horse shows. We often wonder what things would be like if Roy were still here; Clyde misses him and still stops at 'Roy & Ray's' whenever he's in Ashtabula. Roy Elliott was a man you'll not soon forget ... you wouldn't want to if you knew him ... and in a very real sense, he lives on in every person who cared for him.
