Velma Virginia “Toots” Roy 1932-2021 Obituary
Velma Virginia “Toots” Shahan Roy, age 89 years, a resident of Parsons, WV departed this life to her eternal home with her LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ on Sunday, November 14, 2021. She had resided at Cortland Acres Nursing Home for the past 1 1/2 years and had been in declining health.
She was born Tuesday, March 29, 1932, at home on Texas Mountain in Tucker County, WV, a daughter of the late Floyd C. Shahan and Dona Marie Harsh Shahan. On March 28, 1952, in Red House, Maryland, she married Paul L. Roy who preceded her in death in 2009. They had been married fifty-seven years. In addition to her parents and husband she was also preceded in death by a son, Gregory P. Roy; her sisters, Delphia Jones, Estella “Peg” Filler, Thelma Tenney, and her brothers Forrest “Buddy” Delton Shahan, Doyle Shahan, Dorsey “Jake” Shahan, Ellis Shahan and Ray Shahan.
She is survived by her daughters, Risha D. McGill and husband Randall, of Point Pleasant, WV; Michelle D. Phillips and husband Allan, of Ranson, WV; and two sisters, Jean Morrison and husband Floyd of Parsons and Faye Capper of Thonotosassa, FL. She has four grandchildren: Arysta Sweat and husband Skyler of Elko, NV; Jeremy McGill and wife Elaine of Buckhannon, WV; Reanna Chapman and husband Steve of Charleston, WV; and Jon Phillips of Ranson, WV. She has six great-grandchildren: Norah Brick, Kate Brick, and Lucy Sweat of Elko, NV; and Kyia McGill, Emma McGill and Eric McGill of Buckhannon, WV.
She was a graduate of Parsons High School with the class of 1950. She graduated from the McMillan School of Nursing in Charleston, WV in 1954 and focused on the specific area of Labor and Delivery. She loved caring for mothers and their newborn babies and shared her skills while working at McMillan Hospital in Charleston and later at the Tucker County Hospital in Parsons. Her husband’s career with the Air Force required much adaptability as they navigated the snows of Maine one year and the ocean breezes of the Florida coast the next. Then there were the states out west, in the middle and an overseas assignment to Morocco. She had a heart for people and loved to learn.
She also loved to attend the Parsons High School Alumni Banquet every May and in 2014 was inducted into the Parsons High School Hall of Fame. She was a member of the Parsons First Church of the Nazarene and taught Sunday School, sang alto in the choir, assisted with various dinners/events as well as investing in lives of persons who called her to pray with them. She was a true prayer warrior. Her involvement was not hindered by age or infirmity; every week she would await Marie Grafton to pull up in her “chariot” where the two of them would make their way to church.
She loved attending events at the Tucker County Senior Citizens Center where each week, for one hour, she would add her voice to the Goldenaires. She was a very giving person and would faithfully send letters and cards to family and friends. Encouragement was one of her many gifts, and she enjoyed giving people from all walks of life a pair of embroidered Praying Hands pillowcases to remind them they could reach out to God and trust Him at all times.
The family will receive friends at the Lohr & Barb Funeral Home of Parsons on Tuesday from 4 PM to 7 PM. Final rites will be conducted at the funeral home on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, at 1 PM. The Rev. Steve Morrow will officiate and interment will follow at the Parsons City Cemetery at Parsons, WV. The family suggest that expressions of sympathy be in the form of contributions to the Rosenbaum Family House, 30 Family House Drive, Morgantown, WV 26505 or the Parsons Nazarene Church Youth Fellowship, 104 Cheat Valley Hwy, Parsons, WV 26287.
Velma Virginia “Toots” Roy 1932-2021 Obituary
