Royce Allen Daugherty

Royce Allen Daugherty was born in 1950, in Van Zandt County, Texas, the son of Virgil and Odaysel Daugherty. He grew up in Canton, Texas, and was voted “Best Physique” by his high school Senior Class, as well as “Senior Class Favorite”. He graduated from Kilgore College, and later joined the Tyler Fire Department at the age of 24, and rose to the rank of captain before his retirement after 31 years. He has received many awards including Firefighter of the Year, multiple Leadership Awards, a Life Saving Award in 2003, and the Paul Kelly Humanitarian Award in 2005. Royce constantly spoke of the honor he felt in serving the community, and was legendary among his colleagues for both his feats of strength and of kindness. As an example of the former, he once climbed up a 3 story radio antenna to single-handedly-in-one-trip, retrieve four tires placed at the top by multiple of his firefighter buddies. As an example of the latter, he was honored by the Tyler-Courier-Times-Telegraph in 2000 with the “Angels Among Us” award for his above-and-beyond service to those in the community who needed a helping hand— from buying groceries for the needy to changing tires to cleaning houses after a flood with his carpet cleaning business. When anyone asked to repay his or his friends’ kindness, he would respond “bake us a coconut pie”. He had a remarkable talent for figuring out how to build or accomplish things, and helped to build multiple homes over his lifetime for his friends and his family. When a building- or fixing-problem seemed ultimately unfixable, he would come in with his effortless muscle, leading to his name becoming a cherished verb for muscling-through among admiring family members: “Just go ahead and Royce it”. He made friends wherever he went, loved lending a helping hand in any project, and was happy to teach and mentor any young person he came across.

Royce adored his two sons, Michael and Damon Craig, whom he had with his former wife, Mary; and had an incredible work ethic, building multiple businesses while he worked for the fire department. He delighted in his grandchildren and cherished his time with his siblings. His recent years were spent hiking in the mountains, having adventures all over with his beloved wife, Tammy, and dog Pepper, and many dear friends and family from Texas and Colorado. He loved the mountains of Colorado with all his heart.

Royce is survived by his loving wife of 13 years, Tammy, of Divide, Colorado; his son Michael and his partner, Cindy; his son Damon Craig and his wife, Stephanie; his step-daughter Karey and her husband John; his step-son Jared and his wife April; grandchildren Maria and her husband Jon; Connor, Natasha, Lucas, Shane, Dylan, and Marissa; and great-grandchildren Madison and Audrey. He is also survived by beloved siblings Dan (with partner Charlotte), Elaine, Douglas, Dwaine (with wife Shirley), Joyce; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Dewey, and his grandson Matthew.

He is sorely missed. In lieu of flowers, family suggests donations to the

Gary Sinise Foundation for First Responders (https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/donate) or the American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org/involved/donate/memorial-giving.html).