Roy Williams (14 Apr 1931 - 3 Oct 2024)

In loving memory of Roy William who sadly passed away on 3rd October 2024

Roy Edgar Williams 14/04/1931 to 03/10/2024

Roy was born Roy Edgar Williams on 14th April 1931 to parents Dora and Edgar Pritchard Williams in the Birmingham area. His sister Norma was born a few years later. They had a normal, happy and settled childhood. When Roy finished his education at technical college, he joined his mother, who was a telephonist, to work at the GPO where he did an apprenticeship and learned to drive. Roy was called up for National Service and although he’d hoped to get an overseas posting, he was very proud to be stationed at Edinburgh Castle as a cipher for the duration of his service after training at Catterick.

Roy met Jeannette and married her in the early 1950s. Kim was born in 1957 followed four years later by Anthony. At one point Jeanette ran a homewares shop and Roy, Jeanette and the children lived above the shop. Several of Jean’s relatives moved to Margate to make a living with a boarding house and Roy and Jeanette decided to move to Margate too, settling in Addiscombe Road near the park. Roy found work selling typewriters and then office equipment. 

Their third child, David was born In 1974 and the family were now living in Westbrook. Roy was working in London and commuted by car every day, quite a trek, but he continued driving the miles between Westbrook and London for quite a few years. Kim was now a qualified teacher and working and living in London. Anthony finished art college and after a gap period travelling in Europe, he himself also found work in London. Unfortunately a very sad period hit the family very hard and Jean finally gave up her fight against cancer and died in September 1984, aged just 48.

Chris, her husband and daughter were neighbours of Roy and Jeanette. Chris, being a friend to Jean, was also affected by her ill health and her death. She had helped Jean as much she could, when it was needed and continued to offer help to Roy and David, practical things like collecting David from school, lifts to swimming club and cooking the odd meal. 

Roy offered help in return when Chris needed it, helping her to move from her house to an apartment when her marriage broke up. Chris and Roy struggled through a very hard winter with heavy snow making Roy’s commutes to London and Chris’s job on the road dangerous and difficult. A new chapter began and happiness followed the very difficult and sad period. Roy and Chris decided that they wanted to be together and got married in 1986 after moving to Aylesford to make Roy’s commute to London easier and making a home for them and the two children. Roy had a successful career at that time working with a Dutch company as the UK agent selling their office furniture, a job which Roy fully enjoyed. He was highly respected by the Dutch personnel as well as his customers. 

Roy and Chris had a long and happy time together, always devoted to each other and always happy to spend all their time together, sharing the same interests. They loved their holidays abroad. For several years while David and Alison were young they all spent their Christmas holidays in Tenerife to escape British winter weather. As time went on and they found themselves on their own, they tried a Spring holiday in mainland Spain and impulsively bought a small studio apartment in Mijas Costa. Eventually they sold the apartment and bought a house nearby and they spent all the time they could get away, in their house in Spain. After 20 years of spending time there Roy and Chris decided to sell the house in case it became difficult for them to manage as they got older. In actual fact it was covid that stopped them travelling to Spain. Later Anthony and Sharon introduced them to cruising, something they continued to enjoy up until present time. 

Roy was so proud of the family that had been started by himself and Jean. Each of his children, Kim, who married Grant, Anthony who married Sharon and David, who married Katrine, had three children (the grandchildren are Gemma, Hannah, Katy, Victoria, James, Thomas, Samuel, Noah, Benjamin). He was also slightly surprised and very happy to see great grandchildren adding to his family (great grandchildren are Ophelia, Percy, Jemima, Hayden, Lyla, Dylan). Roy took to his heart Chris’s daughter, Alison too, and did the best he could for her. He was also a supportive grandfather to her three children, Jazmin, Taylor and Morgan.

Roy had several quite dramatic health blips over the latter years, but always managed to beat them with great strength and fortitude. The last health problem which was the cause of his death was a quick illness that Roy was still vowing to beat - right until the end - he still showed his strength and would have been pleased to know that he still had all his “marbles”. 

An afterthought, when Roy and I got married he was 55 and I was 35. Our goal was to reach our 25th wedding anniversary and have a party. We far exceeded that and had several other parties and landmark anniversaries. I feel absolutely blessed to have had almost 40 wonderful years of Roy’s magnificent 93!