John Roland "Roy" King

In Loving Memory of
John Roland
“Roy” King
age 97
Roy is survived by his daughter Bonnie Geldof, 
grandchildren Lyle (Brandis) & Mark (Zena), 
great-grandchild Addyson Geldof 
along with nieces and nephews.

Died
April 14, 2019
Calgary, Alberta

Public Graveside Service
 Friday, May 10 , 2019
Deloraine Cemetery 
Deloraine, Manitoba 
11:00 a.m.

Memorial donations in Roy’s name may be made to the Deloraine Canadian Legion 
Branch #83; Box 443, Deloraine, 
Manitoba, R0M 0M0.

John Roland King, better known as Roy, passed away with family by his side in Calgary, Alberta on Sunday, April 14th, 2019 at 7:35 pm.  
Roy was the son of Thomas John King and Rose Beatrice Ward both from North Yorkshire, England.  He was fond of saying “yes he was English and you could always tell an Englishman, but you couldn’t tell him much!”
Roy was born January 25th, 1922 at 27-7-27 in Pipestone Municipality, a few years after, the family, which included by then, two girls, Irene and Ruby, moved to the Deloraine area where Thomas was employed by the railway.
Roy enlisted in the RCAF on July 4, 1941 and served as a Navigator during the war, stationed in England.  He flew with a mixed crew of RAF and RCAF on Lancaster Bombers.  On his return home he married Nora Shirley Robinson and they had one daughter Bonnie Marie King (Geldof).  
Roy ran the bowling alley in Deloraine for many years and following its closure he worked as a bookkeeper for various places in town. He served as treasurer of the Flying Club and Airport Commission for a number of years. At one point Roy went to Ottawa and completed a Meteorology Program and worked for a short time in Regina however he missed Deloraine and his friends there so moved back after a few months.
In his 60’s Roy was able to realize the life- long dream of getting his private pilot’s licence.  He even had his own plane and hanger.  He spent many hours at the airport and was sad to part with the plane when his health no longer allowed him to fly. 
He was a 60 plus year member of the Royal Canadian Legion and even in his 90’s he could be found most Tuesday evenings there with a group of others telling stories.
Roy lived in his own home until his daughter finally was able to persuade him to move to Calgary to live with her in summer of 2018. He visited the Legion in Calgary and often also attended parties at The Colonel Belcher which is a care facility housing veteran’s in Calgary.
He traded his Tuesday evenings with the guys at the Legion for Friday evenings at G & T in the condo complex where he was living.  Both these groups will miss him and his stories.  
Roy is survived by his daughter Bonnie, his grandchildren Lyle (Brandis) and Mark (Zena) and great granddaughter Addyson Geldof along with nieces and nephews.  He was predeceased by his parents, his sisters and brothers in law Irene and Stewart Tavener and Ruby and Jim Hollingworth; as well as son-in-law Gordon Geldof.  
His special niece Susan Hollingworth will miss their phone calls and Facetime chats which often went on for more than an hour and included cats on both ends of the call.
Special thanks to Brian Quilty, Tom Dunn, and Dianna Wilson whose friendship and assistance allowed Roy to remain in his own home long after he would otherwise have been able to. Thanks also to Brian, Tom, Susan and Colleen as well as Calgary buddy Gay Alderman who helped greatly with the move to Calgary.  It would not have gotten done without your assistance.
Graveside service and interment will take place on May 10th, 2019 at 11:00 am at the Deloraine Cemetery with lunch to follow at the Deloraine Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Donations in Roy’s memory can be made to the Deloraine Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
 

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