On a glorious winter night, Sunday, December 17th, 1939, Roy Carlton Arch was brought into this world by his loving parents William Harry and Lilith Coe Arch. French Harbor, Roatan didn’t know the son and ambassador they would receive that night. Roy began to grow as a boy and in an unfortunate slingshot accident at the age of 12, he was forced to start wearing glasses. It was at that point, he began to see the world in a 4D perspective. His vision as a carpenter, engineer and entrepreneur began to blossom in his soul. Roy finished his high school diploma and moved to New Orleans with family to attend LSU.

While at LSU, Roy’s sister Pearl Jones, came to the United States and settled in Tampa in the early 1960’s. Roy chose to move to Tampa and join the Army soon thereafter. This decision engaged his vision to become a builder/engineer and he transferred into the National Guard to pursue those ventures. While in the National Guard, Roy met two very influential people in his life that would soon put him on a path that would lead to his final resting place in the National Military Cemetery. During his initial years in the military, he was introduced to his soon-to-be mentor Leo Lorenzo and his life-long best friend Nick Capitano. The Guard established the foundation for the next chapters in his life. By the recommendation of his peers, he was accepted to the military academy in 1965 and this is where Roy began to bloom as a man and leader.

Christmas Eve of 1965 was a Saturday on a mild cool night in Tampa. Roy was at a family gathering celebrating with family and friends. It was on this night he began his pursuit of his life partner, best friend, and true love, Donna Rae Bush. This was the start of Roy discovering what a strong, dedicated, and pure woman Donna is. The circumstances of that event warrant a chapter all in itself. After being very persistent, Donna gave Roy her grandfather’s phone number. At the time, Donna’s mother and brothers were not yet in the United States. Amazingly, the next morning she had heard her family had been allowed to enter via Miami. She was touched by meeting Roy the previous night and mentioned to her Grandmother that he might be calling. In a world of six degrees of separation, it was at that moment Grandmother Kate said, “Is he Harry Arch’s son?” Donna replied, “I am not sure, but he seemed like a very nice man.” Grandmother Kate’s response was, “If he is an Arch he must be a great man because the family genes are strong.”

Just nine months after they met, Roy proposed. They got married on July 15th, 1967. This transcended their life together forever. Roy and Donna immediately began to enjoy their new life together. Their honeymoon was in Nassau, Bahamas. Donna did her best to teach Roy how to dance, and despite the failure then, she never gave up trying the rest of their married life. Not too long after, they welcomed their first child (Carla Rae Arch) into the world on September 11, 1970. To complete their wish of a “perfect” family they welcomed their second child (Troy Carlton Arch) on January 9th, 1973.

Roy continued to excel in his work and soon was doing engineering on a large scale on such projects as Tampa Library, Tampa Stadium, Ben Hill Junior High school, and various projects in downtown St. Petersburg. His accomplishments extend beyond as an amazing, father, husband, leader, and entrepreneur. His dedication to his craft caused him to be considered a workaholic. There was a delicate balance to being a father, partner, and bread winner all at the same time. He sacrificed these times while his life partner, Donna, was taking perfect care of the children and home when Roy needed to be at the Guard or at work.

Roy was able to see his children learn and develop from his principles and guidance into admired families as well. With the support of the Bush, Arch, Jackson, McNabb, Coe, Jones, McLaughlin, Woods and Allinder families during times of both challenge and joy they were all there to support in all occasions.

Lt. Col. Roy Carlton Arch, Army National Guard (Ret.) passed away on Monday, March 6, 2017. In the end, his life was glorious and filled with amazing family and accomplishments. He is survived by his loving wife of fifty years of marriage as of this July 2017 (Donna), his two children (Carla and Troy), his Son-in-law Tom Allinder, and grandchildren Raegan, Caitlin, Charlotte, Emma, Taylor, and Madison.

A memorial servie for Lt. Col. Roy C. Arch will be conducted 3 p.m. Saturday, March 11, 2017 at LifeBridge Free Methodist Church, 9602 Hulsey Road, Tampa, FL 33634. A celebration of life open house will follow at the Arch home, 8105 Lutz Lake Fern Road, Odessa, FL 33556. Burial will be 1:30pm Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at Sarasota National Cemetery, Sarasota, Florida.