Roy Acott (23 Apr 1935 - 24 Aug 2018)

When someone passes away it’s often said they were unique. Well, Roy Acott genuinely was a one-off.

You’d find it very hard if you wanted one word to describe him. He was first and foremost funny and cheerful; he was generous to a fault. He could tell all sorts of stories about his life and his friends, but you often didn’t know he was pulling your leg until you realised that the story had taken an unexpected twist and then he would suddenly break off the discourse and say “I don’t know where I’m going with this” and burst out laughing.

As many will know, school served him badly. At the time of his education, those who were deaf like Roy got sat at the back of the class, so had no real chance. As a youngster he was given a hearing aid, and fairly successfully hid while photos were taken because it embarrassed him to be seen in it.

Probably due to his poor schooling he found reading and writing pretty hard but he was nobody’s fool- we never met anyone who could calculate odds faster or more accurately than Roy.

Primarily he was a family man, even though he never married or had children. But his wider family meant a lot to him and he never tired of hearing how others from the family were doing.

He also appreciated the support and help he got from Julie and Sam, who initially came to help him look after the flat, but later became good friends who regularly went around for fish & chip evenings.

He moved from Barking/Dagenham out to Rochford about 10 years ago to be nearer to his brother Tony, and then moved on to Wedgwood House, Ashingdon for his last years. Although he rarely if ever appeared for communal activities in his sheltered accommodation, he did make friends, and was always grateful to Holly, the manager for the support and kindness he was shown.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT HIS FUNERAL (DETAILS ON THE RIGHT) AND AFTERWARDS AT THE EKCO SPORTS CLUB, THORNFORD GARDENS, SOUTHEND SS2 6PU