Obituary
Mrs. Rose “Cookie” Roy (Landry) died peacefully in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, January 8, 2017, at the age of 82. Rose is survived by her sister, Marie Gilbert, of Greenland, New Hampshire and Daytona Beach, Florida; her children, Claire Russ (Jerry Russ) of Galena, Illinois; Marie Roy, of Stuart, Florida; Jeanine Connor (Bob Connor) of Orlando, Florida; and Michelle Rodriguez (William Rodriguez) of Naples, Florida; her grandchildren, Ryan Kernen (CJ Kernen) of Jacksonville, Florida; Lauren Barnes (Darren Barnes), of Port St. Lucie, Florida; Stephanie Glover (Greg Glover) of Salinas, California; Devin Wilson, of Holiday, Florida; Denise Rodriguez, of Naples, Florida; Quinlan Connor, of Orlando, Florida; Jarrod Connor, of Orlando, Florida; and William Rodriguez, Jr., of Naples, Florida; and her great grandchildren, Hailey Barnes, Sidney Barnes, Dean Barnes and Dustin Barnes, all of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Rose was born on April 14, 1934, when, legend has it, her father said, “Look at the little Cookie”, and the nickname stuck! Rose graduated from Lincoln High School in Lincoln, New Hampshire in 1952, where she was a cheerleader for the basketball team (as there were not enough boys to form a football team) and was described in her senior yearbook as, “Always laughing. Loves life.” This turned out to be a lifetime description. She met the love of her life, Gerard “Jerry” Roy, when she was fifteen years old and soon found herself waiting for him to participate in the Korean War as a draftsman in the Air Force. In 1954, Cookie and Jerry got married and moved to Bolling AFB, Washington DC, where Jerry continued his Air Force career. Cookie, the epitome of a military wife, then followed Jerry to Dreux AFB, France; Hamilton AFB, California; Stead AFB, Nevada; Wiesbaden, Germany; Hill AFB, Utah; Vandenberg AFB, California; and the Pentagon, Washington DC, all the while, giving birth to and raising four girls while caring for many neighborhood children of working parents and making many lifetime friends. Finally, after 26-1/2 years, Jerry retired from the Air Force, and Rose and Jerry moved to Florida Shores, Edgewater, Florida where they lived happily for over thirty years.
Jerry preceded Rose in death on December 27, 2012, and was buried with military honors at Jacksonville National Cemetery; Rose’s ashes will be buried there with her loving husband. Since the two loved to dance and, particularly, to polka, they will certainly liven up the dance floor of the NCO Club in the sky!
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