Roy was born on September 13th, 1928, in Leaside, Toronto, the only child of Freda (Gar) and Smiley (Baba) Loach. He attended Hodgson Public School and North Toronto Collegiate before earning a Bachelor of Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering, 5T2, at the University of Toronto. Roy’s MechEng class was boarded in Ajax, the result of a bulge of young soldiers attending U of T after the war, and it was in Ajax that Roy met his lifelong friends, “Leitch and Orrell”.
These fine young engineering students introduced Roy to a beautiful young St. Michael’s Hospital nursing student, Marion Joy Dyson. Loach, Leitch and Orrell all married St. Mike’s nurses; Roy and Marny married in 1954.
Three children soon followed. John (Patti), Keith (Michelle) and Claire grew up in Scarborough during the fifties, sixties and seventies. Many of Roy’s children’s friends refer to him as their second father, and Roy and Marny were esteemed guests at many of their children’s parties. In the eighties and nineties Roy became the adored and devoted “Grandpa Roy” to Will (Anna), Rob, Ned (Robbie), Justin, Aaron (Chelsea) and Daniele, and in 2016 he became a great-grandfather to Harper and Emmett.
Professionally, Roy started as a design engineer with his father in their machine shop, S.W. Loach & Son. Roy developed several unique machines for the printing industry, leading to the company’s purchase by the Sheridan Company of New York. Roy then worked as Sheridan’s Canadian representative for a few years, and eventually left to start his own company, Loach Engineering. Both sons, John and Keith, helped Roy expand ‘LoachEng’ into a successful industrial supplier and manufacturer. Claire became a nurse, and she is loved by colleagues and patients alike for her compassion and gentle humour.
Roy was a charter member of the North Scarborough Rotary Club, and ‘worked out’ every morning at The Fitness Institute. He met many close friends and created wonderful memories through both Rotary, and ‘The Fitness’.
Music was an integral part of Roy’s life, as any visitor to the Loach home would know. Many parties ended with sing-songs around various keyboards played by Roy, Gar, aunts, uncles and young Claire, augmented by John on trumpet and Keith on clarinet. In fact, as recently as two weeks ago, Roy played one of his famous medleys for Marny in their apartment at the Dunfield. Roy and Marny spent many hours singing together there while Claire played their favorite “golden oldies”.
Eight years ago, Roy and Marny moved to “The Dunfield” where they became a part of an inspiring community of seniors. We are indebted to the Dunfield staff for making our parents’ final years together such happy ones, and we are certain that Roy felt comfortable knowing that Marny would be well cared for, after he was gone.
Roy helped us to learn, to laugh, to succeed, to play, to get along, to share, to see the world, and to respect one another. When he was asked what accomplishment made him most proud, Roy responded, “My family.” He died on the morning of Family Day, 2020. It seems fitting to know that on Family Days to come we will be reminded of Roy’s intelligence, wit and infinite love, and we will smile at that memory, knowing how lucky we were to have been loved by him.
Will described his grandfather as a “helping” person. After retirement, Roy’s mechanical talents earned him the title of ‘Toy Doctor’, as he repaired and customized countless toys while volunteering at the Bloorview MacMillan Children’s Centre. Later, Roy welcomed cancer patients as a greeter at Sunnybrook Hospital’s Odette Cancer Centre. (He had survived prostate cancer and subsequently committed himself to help others through their treatments.) Roy asked that if people felt inclined to make a donation in his memory, the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital was a good choice. https://sunnybrook.ca/foundation/
A celebration of Roy’s life will be held at a later date.
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