Grove Roys III

 

Grove Roys III
May 16, 1953 - December 17, 2017
Torrington, CT
Grove Roys III,64, of Torrington a legend in the model railroading community, lover of cheeseburgers and classic Corvettes, and an amateur whistler of songs by The Beach Boys, passed away on December 17, 2017, surrounded by his family, after a courageous, hard-fought battle with cancer.
Grove was extremely passionate about his model railroading. He developed and evolved his love of trains as a kid from his own father. Though he amassed trains from all over, he would always remain faithful to Lionel Trains, so much so that the company would highlight Grove’s status as The Lionel Legend in a 2016 online profile. Not to let such a title go to waste, his wife and sons were sure to refer to him as “The Legend.”
Legends only become legends through a supporting family. Grove married his best friend, Laurie Turbacuski, with whom over the course of their 39 years of marriage had two sons who were the lights of his life: Tyler (of State College, PA) and Christopher (of Los Angeles, CA). He was born to Helen Dlugokinski and Grove Roys Jr. He was raised with sisters Shelia Fitzsimons, Sharon Roys, Cindy Roys and Darlene Mubarek in Harwinton, CT,  and was a graduate of Lewis Mills HS Class of 1971.
Having retired from the Torrington Company/Timken after 34 years, he held a brief stint at Deringer-Ney before joining Edgewell/Schick-Wilkinson Sword in 2006 as Superintendent of the Mold Tool Room. Ever the fighter, he worked every day until his final months.
Grove wore his signature button-down flannels tucked into jeans every day, unless at a Penn State game in which case you’d find him in blue and white swag. All of this is to say his wardrobe never stood a chance at outshining his wife’s closet, something he took pride in.
In addition to the 4th Floor staff at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Grove’s family would like to extend special thanks to the staff at Torrington’s Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center, in particular Dr. Brandt and Abby, for their unwavering compassion and dedication.
Visitation will be held at Phalen Funeral Home Thursday Dec. 21 from 4:00-7:00 PM.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday Dec. 22 at 11:30 AM at Saint Francis of Assisi Church.  Friends are asked to go directly to Church. In lieu of flowers, donations in Grove’s name can be made to Penn State’s student-run philanthropy, THON, to fight pediatric cancer (thon.donordrive.com), or the Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center (200 Kennedy Drive, Torrington, CT 06790).
Because a beach was his favorite place to go, every moment big or small was soundtracked by his favorite band, The Beach Boys. This moment is no different. Grove is on safari to stay. Tell the teacher he’s surfing…surfin’ USA.  on line memorials www.phalenfuneral.com