Roy Layton

IN LOVING MEMORY ROY E. LAYTON UNITED STATES ARMY VETERAN 12/31/1941 - 09/13/2024

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ROY’S OBITUARY: Roy Elvin Layton, age 82, of Charleston, WV, peacefully passed to his heavenly home on Friday, September 13, 2024, after a very long and extremely courageous battle with colorectal cancer, which has spanned more than two decades. Roy's path was complicated with multiple health issues and his journey has been beyond brave and heroically impressive, his resilience sometimes even astonishing his doctors and health personnel. Powered by prayer and knowing each day to be a blessing, Roy lived a long, happy, and fulfilled life in which he was loved and celebrated.

Roy was born on December 31, 1941, to Harry and Phoeba Layton, both of whom preceded him in death. He was also preceded in death by brothers, Harry Wayne Layton and Danny Lee Layton, and two infant daughters, Patricia Sue Layton and Cindy Lou Layton.

Roy was a devout Christian and a member of SpringFork Missionary Baptist Church, where he served as church deacon, sang in the choir, and taught senior high and adult Sunday School classes until his health rendered him unable to continue. He was the first to lend a helping hand and never met a stranger, most always joking and making others laugh. He relied heavily on prayer and never lost his faith, even as his health continued to decline, oftentimes found witnessing to nurses and caregivers, praising the Lord, and sharing his favorite Bible verses.

Roy was formerly employed with the West Virginia Parkways Authority, where he functioned in a supervisory role at the time of his retirement in 2001. He had prior employment with Coastal Tank Lines and Valley Bell Dairy and was also a military veteran, having proudly served his country in the United States Army.

Roy is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Brenda "Joyce" Layton; daughter, Tana (Rich) Tolley of Hurricane; son, Terry (Lynda) Layton of Charleston; granddaughters, Ashley (Jen) Layton of Belington and Marissa (Christian) Sands of Greensboro, PA; sisters, Marilyn (Bernard) Hudnall of Saint Albans and Shirley (Randy) Wilson of Charleston; and many beloved nieces, nephews, friends, and cousins.

Roy loved spending time in his garage and attending car shows. He was an avid collector of classic cars, his favorite being his pink 1956 Ford Victoria Fairlane. He liked to browse flea markets and had quite the collection of various 1950s memorabilia. He was always up for a spontaneous road trip and especially liked spending time in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Recently confined to home, you could find him watching his favorite TV westerns, working jigsaw puzzles, or sitting on the porch, singing and whistling. He always had a story to tell and could talk and reminisce for hours, finding joy in the simplest details. He was truly an inspiration to all who knew him and his absence will be felt by many.

Funeral services will be 1:00pm on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at SpringFork Missionary Baptist Church with the Rev. Mike Long officiating. Friends may call one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens in Cross Lanes.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Roy's honor may be made to either The American Cancer Society or SpringFork Missionary Baptist Church. Roy loved his church and cared deeply for others fighting their own cancer battles.

Stevens and Grass Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

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A FEW THINGS ROY ENJOYED:

• Going to church, reading the Bible: Roy taught Sunday school (the 9th grade class, the 11th/12th grade combined class, and later the men’s adult class). He sang in the choir, helped out with the Bible school program, and served as church deacon for many years. He often said his favorite place to be was in the church praising Jesus. He would quote Bible verses and sing hymns and was proud to be a Christian. He was a member of the same Baptist church for 50 years.

• Spending time with family and friends: Roy and his wife, Joyce, were married for 62 years, having met as children and dating since their early teens. They were lucky enough to still be able to enjoy their golden years, even with his cancer diagnosis. Roy enjoyed many days of travel with his wife and their friends. He loved when the entire family came together for a picnic reunion or to enjoy a meal and quality family time during the holidays. He loved his kids and his granddaughters, and together he and Joyce made sure they had an entire backyard of fun while growing up - from swingsets and swimming pools, tree houses and playhouses, basketball hoops, motorized jeeps and minibikes. As his grandbabies grew, he laughed the loudest at Ashley’s stories, and cheered the loudest at Marissa’s dance performances. He liked hunting with his father and son, attending car shows with his brother, and riding ATVs with his cousin. He always had great memories to share of his parents and siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends.

• The American flag, pride in his country and State: Roy served in the US Army in the early 1960s. He loved anything patriotic and was always the watermelon guy at all of the July 4th celebrations. He was proud to be an American and proud to be a West Virginian. He loved his small community - where he was born, raised, and then died, never staying away for too long.

• Classic cars and attending car shows: Roy loved cars since he was a teenager and in his senior years became an avid collector of the classics. He owned several, and often entered them in local car shows. Roy had an entire garage full of awards, collector cars, 50s memorabilia, and basically anything that brought him joy or reminded him of a simpler time.

• Riding his ATV (and later his scooter): Roy spent many afternoons riding the trails with his cousin or scooting around the streets while vacationing. There was never a shortage of new places to explore or familiar places to revisit.

• Camping, hunting, sometimes fishing: Roy liked to squirrel and deer hunt, especially with his father, brothers, and his son. They often spent time at their camps in Calhoun or Lewis County, and he would often take his children and family camping or fishing. Pulling a camper to the beach, or pitching a pup tent in the front yard, he loved nature and the outdoors.

• TV westerns, especially Gunsmoke • Family Feud & The Wheel of Fortune • The Andy Griffith Show • Watching ghost stories on TV • Popcorn & Dr. Pepper • The color yellow • Road trips • Flea markets and antique stores • Cracker Barrel’s meatloaf • Jigsaw puzzles and word searches • Playing the harmonica • Collecting coins • Collecting 50s memorabilia. • Sitting on the porch

• The song “Home to West Virginia”: You might be hearing this song play as you read this memorial. He loved it, and even though Amazing Grace or Beulah Land might have been a more appropriate choice for a memorial page, we can’t deny that he’d be tapping along to this favorite.

• The song “Jesus Changed My Life”: Roy told his pastor early on that he wanted this song sang at his funeral. He joked that if they needed three songs, to just sing this song three times. That didn’t happen, but to honor his request they did sing all three verses at his service.

• Gospel music and 50s music • Spending time in his garage. • Taking pictures • Singing and whistling. • Reeses Cups & Kit Kat candy bars • Playing Uno

• Working around the house. Roy actually enjoyed yard work or light construction projects. He liked tending to his garden or flowers, and he always kept a clean car and thought yours should be clean too!

• Visiting Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This was a frequent trip during the car show days. Home away from home.

• Making people laugh and acting silly: When Roy felt well, there was never a dull moment. His goofiness is what we missed most when he became ill.

• Reminiscing about the “good ol’ days” Again, there was always a story. Childhood mischievousness, memories of his father, or lessons learned. Those were the days.

————————————————— Roy was very much loved and is missed every day. We hope you enjoy this small memorial created in his honor. If you’ve missed it, there are links above to photos and videos, and a tributes page too.

Thank you for visiting. As Roy was so fond of saying: “I hope something good happens to you today!” God bless.