Father's Day - Harvey Roys, MD

OK. A little late. I did a triple June 15 - 3 social events with only one hour of rest. That was too much for me in my current weak condition. Back to singles and doubles. My father-in-law was a leader in medicine and the church in the Seattle area for 50 years. He improved many lives in both areas. Harvey Roys, Jr., MD turned 90 on May 25. The only degree he was ever awarded was MD. He was in college in the late 1930s preparing for medical school when the U of Oklahoma took bright young men like him into medical school after 3 years of college. He got the MD in 1943, did one year internship, then into the Army. Dr. Roys's unit traveled by train to Seattle and embarked on a troop ship. "Where are we going?" "Can't tell you." A week or so later they woke to see Diamond Head! A short stop on their way to The Battle of Okinawa. He worked in a field hospital. But don't think his job was easy. Seeing ugly, painful tropical skin diseases, he chose to specialize in dermatology. He traveled to New York City with his new bride Ruth Jacobson of Seattle for training. He quickly was board certified and became a "go to" guy: When you don't know what you are seeing or need a second opinion go see Harvey Roys. Adjunct Prof at the University of Washington Medical School. Private practice from about 1950 to 1987, then he worked with family practitioners, teaching them about skin diseases. Retired around 1995, but he will always care for people and try to improve their lives, i.e., be a medical doctor. Active in the Southern Baptist Church, he was soon in demand for "pulpit supply," which is filling in for sick or vacationing pastors. He started 3 or 4 churches in the Seattle area - Lake Washington Baptist in Lake City, Seattle, Bothell First Baptist and one in Juanita/Kirkland. He was the senior pastor at Brooklyn Avenue Baptist Church in the University District of Seattle in the 1960s; I attended once or twice as a college student. He continued preaching until about age 75. I am preparing an entry about how his most positive qualities made him a preacher and vice versa.