Roy Anthony unexpectedly passed away on April 19, 2021 due to heart failure. He was 56 years old. At the end, Roy was surrounded with love from his wife and two children. He was also held tight in the hearts and minds of family and friends who were praying for him but unable to be there in person due to extraordinary circumstances with COVID restrictions and social distancing guidelines.

Roy is survived by his wife Melanie, their two sons Francisco (Cisco) and Sebastian, his sister Angela Francois and family, brother Miguel Remedios and family and sister Christine Strandell and family. His parents Miguel and Carmen d’Almada Remedios preceded him in death. Roy is also survived by a very loving extended family which includes nieces, nephews, in-laws and many cousins along with close friends and his work family.

Roy was born in Hong Kong and came to the United States with his family when he was very young. His large, warm extended family would gather regularly to celebrate holidays and spectacular family reunions where they would play games and of course share and enjoy delicious food. Roy attended St. Benedict’s Catholic School, Bishop Blanchet High School and explored many college courses at the University of Washington and Shoreline Community College. Roy had a love for music and this grew with his first job at Tape Town which then transitioned to Camelot Music. He had a passion for art, photography and literature and especially when it fit into an idiosyncratic and unpredictable framework. Surrealism was his favorite artistic movement in all forms.

Roy spent his career with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) in the Community Services Division in many positions. For more than a decade he was a Social Service Training Specialist where he trained and mentored hundreds of new staff members in learning the programs to help provide much needed support to people in our communities. He is known for his knowledge, expertise, patience and of course his wit and humor.

Roy and Melanie had their “meet cute” at DSHS in 1996 when Roy learned they shared the same birthday and came over to introduce himself and extend birthday wishes. “Roy and Mel” was created a few short months later and they celebrated each birthday together since then. They have been married for over 20 years and have two wonderfully creative children that follow in their father’s footsteps, Francisco (Cisco) and Sebastian. Roy was devoted to his boys every day. This love included supporting their art and musical interests, attending countless band and jazz performances, and shopping for vinyl together to include in their respective collections.

Roy lived for his family. He loved rooting and cheering his boys on at soccer games and also enjoyed attending or watching Seattle Sounders games with them. The guys were even able to enjoy one last in person Sounders game shortly before the pandemic closures began in Seattle. Almost a year after that game, on the Friday before his passing, Roy wore his new Sounders Sasquatch shirt and cheered alongside his family as the Sounders had a tremendous win on their opening game of the season. Roy was so excited and looking forward to watching the new season with his family.

Cooking and enjoying food was another passion for Roy. He loved when food brought his favorite people together and enjoyed dim sum, sushi and Hong Kong chow mein with his family and friends. Roy especially loved cooking his Macanese family recipes for his children, their favorite dish being Bafassa. Roy’s treasured favorite was Arroz Gordo that his mother Carmen made for special occasions.

Roy had a longtime love of comics and Science Fiction since he was a child and he passed on that interest to his boys. Roy and his boys celebrated many comic book day adventures together and watched cartoons, movies and anime. Once he stayed up for several nights to create a Death-star paper mache piñata for his son Cisco’s birthday party. It was impenetrable! After about three turns of 20+ kids through the line it was finally destroyed with the help of another parent’s baseball bat. When Roy created something it was always amazing and larger than life. Roy was highly intelligent and seemed to know everything about everything, as if he embodied Yoda himself. Winning any kind of trivia game against him was next to impossible.

Roy loved spending time in nature with his family, especially enjoying locations by the water such as Golden Gardens or Carkeek park for areas close to home. Visiting Cape Disappointment State Park and Long Beach were often annual trips and always included a trek to see the Lighthouses. The ocean is often a metaphor for many things. Roy was our “Salty Sea Captain” that knew that the waves may be rocky at times in life and yet he was also our lighthouse that helped us find our way to always be anchored to home and family.

Roy was a wonderful combination of someone who had a love for his family life and a rooted understanding of what was important—the simplicity of loving life with those that you love. His generous, patient and creative spirit touched so many people in his personal and professional life.

As those closest to Roy know, he connected strongly to the Fool in the Tarot deck. The Fool is one of the most powerful cards in all of the Tarot deck when it is in the present position. In this position it has been noted that this symbol reflects that you can move mountains. The Fool card tells us “carpe diem” -seize the day. In the future position, The Fool most likely represents enjoying a new life or a new beginning. After his passing a simple quote that he had saved was found in his notes:

“I was not born a fool, I worked hard to be this way.”

That’s the lesson for all of us grieving this tremendous loss. Seize the day and enjoy the time we have with those that we love. That is what Roy lived for every day. One comfort we are holding onto is that Roy is now with many of our favorite people who have passed on. We imagine them all looking down on us and guiding us like the Jedi’s of the past. We will miss him and love him forever.

Roy’s most favorite and treasured Saint was St. Anthony. The patron saint of lost and stolen articles. For many, many years Roy always wore a simple silver ball chain with several religious medals and Milagros that he selected to represent him and his immediate family members and his faith. A St. Anthony medal represented Roy and that is the only medal that could not be found when the chain came apart during his emergent medical care at the hospital. It just did not make its way home. Just as Roy did not come home again. The family is holding onto this mystery of faith and hope that St. Anthony will forever remain with Roy and help him find peace in his eternal home.

A funeral mass will be planned in the next few months when we are able to gather together in person, as Roy would have wanted. Until then, we invite you to light a candle for him or toast him with a dirty martini or a nip of good scotch.

Thank you to family and friends who kept Roy and his family in their thoughts and prayers. Thank you to the many hands who worked hard to keep Roy with us, especially the fire fighters and paramedics, UW Medical Center Northwest and the UW Montlake Cardiac Unit. We are lucky and blessed to have these talented, hardworking and supportive members in our community.