Roy William Nelson

On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Roy William Nelson peacefully passed away at the age of 95. He was loved and cared for in the home of his daughter Lisa, her husband, Gary, and their family for the past 4 years. They opened their home to all family members as well as many loving caregivers. As such, Roy was always within reach of a loving touch.

Roy was born in Chicago, on March 25, 1931. His family moved to Washington, D.C. during the depression and years later, he was introduced to a woman, on a blind date, who lived on the same street in Chicago where he grew up. Her name was Anne and her dancing “knocked my socks off”. Anne swept Roy away with her ability to dance and they married in February of 1954. They both wanted a large family and were blessed with six children who were raised in College Park, MD.

Roy loved sports, especially football, he was awarded All-Met accolades for his play at the center position while attending Central High School. Roy then played football while serving in the Navy where he would play the center position on a Friday Night in Norfolk VA and then hitchhike to Maryland to play linebacker for Car Credit on the following Saturday, he said, “that way I played a complete game”. In 2016, Roy was inducted into the Jocks Hall of Fame, an award given to the “who’s who” of Washington DC Athletes. He was a diehard Redskins fan who was able to enjoy all home games by serving as an usher, with his brother-in-law, Tipper White, from the 1950’s to the late 1990’s. In his free time, he was a phenomenal softball umpire, umpiring throughout the Washington DC Metropolitan area, but he was a legend in College Park softball umpiring during the 1970’s. He was the ump running down the line to ensure he’d make the right “bang-bang” call at 1 st base, or if you heard his iconic “Steeeeeerike” everyone knew ‘who’ was behind the plate.

Roy served his Country by enlisting in the Navy and served for four years, part of which were during the Korean War. After his service, Roy joined C&P Telephone as an installer, where he built his reputation and his credentials that eventually led to a position at the White House where he worked for more than 25 years. On many occasions, Roy was chosen to be a part of an elite team that traveled abroad, in advance of the President, to set-up and secure Presidential communications. A couple of his trips included, Bonn, Germany, Tokyo, Japan and Mexico City, Mexico. After his years at the White House, Roy’s credentials allowed him to work in prestigious, high clearance spaces, such as the United States Senate, the CIA, and the Pentagon, where he was a survivor of the 9/11 attacks. When Roy decided to “retire” he became a crossing guard in Prince George’s County. Roy found pride and accomplishment in his work; he spoke about going to work until his last days.

Roy was raised Lutheran but chose to convert to Catholicism to share in the same faith of his wife of 70 years, Anne. As a parishioner at Holy Redeemer Church, Roy served as an usher for many years offering a welcoming smile to all parishioners. Roy’s smile brought about a group of parishioners who were all Redskin fans; they called themselves the “Wild Bunch”. Roy and Anne were excellent dancers, on many occasions they would have their tabs paid for by club owners to keep them on the dance floor, cutting the rug. At family parties, Roy would always serve as bartender because as he would say, “everyone stops by the bar” offering him a chance to say hello and chat.

Roy, along with Anne, sought to "never miss" a birth, baptism, communion, dance recital, sporting activity, high school or college graduation (for children, nieces/nephews, grand and great-grandchildren), no matter how far they needed to travel. Roy’s example of love and care as a Husband, Dad, Grandpa and Great Grandpa serves as a roadmap for us all.

Roy is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Anne with whom he shared 70 loving years of marriage, his son, Kevin, his brothers and sisters-in-law, Henry, Alva, Babe and Joanne, his sister-in-law and brothers-in-law, Helen, Tipper, and Dave. He is survived by their children; Keith (Debbie), Jeanne (Ignacio), Terri (Kevin), Lisa (Gary) and Greg. Anne’s cousins; Sharon (Dennis), Maureen and John, hold a special place in their family. His grandchildren are Andrea (Michael ‘Boom’), Drew (Laura), Cory (Laura), Nicole, Amber (Bryan), Kelly, the Bryans, Katie (Raffi), Alexandra, Camille, Griffin (Holly), Connor and Bri and great-grandchildren; Ava, Natalie, Charlie, Bea, Isabel, Clara, Elena, Camila, Aedan, Lilah, Gabriel and Timmy along with countless nieces and nephews.

Roy's Celebration of Life will be hosted at Holy Redeemer Church in College Park, MD on Saturday, July 25, 2026, visitation at 10:00 followed by Mass at 11:00.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association in his memory.

https://events.alz.org/fundraisers/jeannecardona/in-memory-of-roy-william-nelson