RICHARD JOHNSON ROBY

Richard "Dick/Rick" Roby passed away on May 28, 2020 at the age of 69.  Born in Chicago, Illinois on April 9, 1951, Dick spent most of his early years in Ogden Dunes, Indiana. The third child and only son of Bud and Dot Roby, he delighted in playing pranks on his parents and older sisters, Barb and Beth. This torture, delivered with love, was the seed of his lifelong sense of humor and which is usually one of the first things people remember about him. Knowing Dick was a lesson in sarcastic and witty banter. His children were well familiar with the word "facetious" at an exceptionally young age.

Education was very important to him. He took (and shared) pride in his academic journey that took him from Kimball Union Academy (NH) to Dartmouth College to Harvard Business School. On multiple occasions, he expressed his admiration for teachers and educators, and the people who chose to pursue that occupation.

It was during his post-Dartmouth days, working in New York City and living in a stunning Brooklyn Heights studio apartment, that he met his first wife, Laurie Fuller.  After completing his degree at Harvard, the couple moved to California where Dick began a career in banking.   Missing the East coast, the couple moved to Providence where they started a family.  Their daughter, Helen, was born in Providence.  After a move to Boston, their son, George was born.   Boston remained Dick’s home for the remainder of his life.

Dick married for a second time to Kathleen McNeil and transitioned to a career in business consulting.  Kathleen’s home on Cape Cod enabled Dick to pursue one of his great passions, gardening.  He also indulged another hobby.  Loving fish but not aquariums, he created meticulous aquatic ecosystems. Many a floor suffered his devotion to these ecosystems.

"Rick" spent his final years with a "noble beast", his basset hound "Romp", who proved to be a steadfast companion.  A voracious reader and lifelong lover of books and art, he amassed quite a collection of both.  Nothing, however, fulfilled him more than spending the last 3 years of his life living with his granddaughters at his daughter’s home in Hingham and a good game of scrabble with his family. Dick is survived by his daughter, Helen and her husband Josh Scoville, his son, George Roby and his granddaughters, Adelie, Evelyn and Isla Scoville.In Lieu of of flowers please donate to https://lung.org/  or https://action.aclu.org or https://mspca.org/