From his daughter, Lisa Beauchamp
Dear friends at the U3A,
Stoic, kind, gentle, humble, consistent, uncomplicated, loyal, are the words to sum up Roy Thomas.
He bravely battled pancreatic cancer, and yet during his illness, he never complained or moaned at the unfairness, his suffering and pain. He was incredibly brave.
My mother, Angela Thomas, was committed to tirelessly caring for him, and ensuring he was comfortable and pain free. To witness their deep love and tender devotion to each other often brought tears to my eyes.
We are also truly thankful to the lovely compassionate nurses from Cancer Care Jávea – Paula Read, Maddie Mcmememy, and Jayne Nuttall-Blake. And the palliative care team from Denia Hospital. They were so caring, proactive and respectful.
I will miss Roy’s sense of humour, his stories about serving in the Royal Navy for his National Service, and of course I loved his stories about working in Fleet Street. He taught me that working hard was rewarding.
I watched how he was a team player, he stood up for what he believed in, he inspired me that I could be more than a team player, I could be an impactful leader. I listened, learned and made him proud by breaking through glass ceilings in the world of newspaper publishing.
Roy loved his life here in Spain, he always enjoyed going to Dining Out events and U3A Jávea functions.
I truly believe he had a special way with people; he wasn’t threatening or overpowering. He was just very easy going and always interested in people. Roy will be missed in the local community.
At his request, he will have a private no-fuss service at the Jávea crematorium.
We will organise a Celebration of Life party at a later date to be announced.
If you would like to make a donation to Cancer Care Jávea in memory of Roy Thomas, here is the link to their website: https://cancercarejavea.org.
Many thanks
Lisa
