Jay L. Roylance
December 20, 1935 – April 2, 2018
Jay L. Roylance passed away the evening of April 2, 2018 at home in Othello, Washington.
Jay was born Dec. 20, 1935 to George Edmond and Mable Claire Valentine Roylance in Meridian, Idaho. His childhood memories were of helping on the farm, throwing loose hay on a wagon with a pitchfork, picking peas and thinning onions and beets along with milking cows. Jay was a junior in high school when his family moved to Moses Lake, Wash. and he graduated from Moses Lake High School. Jay was active in FFA and played three sports all four years of high school. His senior year he received the most Inspirational Player award in baseball, Mr. Basketball award, Sportsmanship award in all three sports and was voted Athlete of the Year. He was offered scholarships for baseball to three colleges but he just wanted to get married and farm and that is what he did.
He married Elaine Merrell in the Salt Lake Temple Oct. 4, 1955. Their first home was in Moses Lake, Jay purchased and developed a farm on Herman Road in Othello and moved there when water came to his units. Along with farming, he had a dairy and milk processing plant and sold milk at Dari-land stores they owned in Othello, Moses Lake and Pasco.
Jay and Elaine were blessed to have eight children; the last child died at birth. Through the years they had six children from the Church’s Indian Placement program live with them. In 1981 Elaine’s sister Vickie and her husband Paul Sampson passed away in a plane crash. Their six children ages 5 to 16 then joined Jay and Elaine’s family.
Jay always loved sports and was very active in the church basketball and softball leagues and sponsored a community softball team in Othello for many years. Jay served faithfully in many church callings throughout his life and with his wife served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Shiprock, N.M. in 1995 serving the Navajos. His joy in life was his family and dreaming of fun things to make for the pond for them to enjoy.
Jay is preceded in death by his parents George and Mable Roylance; sisters and their spouses Clea (Karl) Nelson, Verla (Vilas) Flick, Grace (Gale) Pickerd and Lola (Stan) Cole; brother Bert (Zelma) Roylance; two brothers-in-law Ken Earl and Virgil Leavitt, and his son Richard Roylance. He is survived by three sisters Ludeen Earl, Moses Lake, Norma Leavitt, Mesa Ariz. and Donna and her husband Dennis Killian of Othello. His children include Jan (Ron) Walker of Othello, Diane (Jerry) Batschi of Renton, Susan (Gary) Peterson of Alpine, Utah, Randy (Marcia Bennison) Roylance of Othello, Sandee (Don) Tucker of Moses Lake currently serving as LDS missionaries in Dominican Republic, Roger (Maureen Stuart) Roylance of Othello and Ronald (Jeanette Lawson) Roylance of Othello, The Sampson children include Diane (Blake) Sampson Zenger of New York City, Gary (Susan Bergeson) Sampson of Dallas, Texas, Amy (Jim) Crowley of Provo, Utah, Kimberly Sampson of Provo, Utah, Jill Sampson of Houston, Texas and Paul (Jen Vick) Sampson of Lehi, Utah. He has 51 grandchildren, 17 Sampson grandchildren, 74 great-grandchildren and two Sampson great-grandchildren and he could name every one of his posterity.
Viewings will be Friday, April 6 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, April 7 at 9:30 a.m. at the LDS Stake Center in Othello. The funeral service is on Saturday, April 7 at 11 a.m., also at the LDS Stake Center in Othello.