Dates
Lewis Carroll Roach of Veribest passed away August 20 at the age of 92. He was born November 8", 1933, to Redd and Daisy (Haley) Roach in Stockton, VA.
Lewis grew up on a tobacco farm near Axton, VA. While moonshine stills were plentiful in the region, he was proud till the end that he neither drank nor smoked.
As a chap, Lewis's only interest was in flying airplanes and the grass airfield in Horsepasture, VA, became his school. He soloed shortly after his 16" birthday for his private license and achieved his commercial license before he was 19. Redd and Daisy were fine with this, but the rest of the family was sure he was destined to crash any day.
Before Uncle Sam decided he needed to be in the Army in 1956, he spent his time crop dusting and flying charters across the south. The family still has the logbooks, and they tell a rich story. After 21 months of being an MP at Gray Air Force Base (family lore has it he was guarding nuclear weapons) he was honorably discharged. The greatest accomplishment of his military time was when a mutual friend introduced him to nursing student Helen Welch. It became a romance that spanned almost 70 years.
Following the service he started spraying in Van Horn, Texas. In September 1958 he married Helen and they moved to Laredo. There they lived in a Travelite 2-bedroom 8'x41' trailer that included a Zenith Space Command TV they had purchased second hand from a circus for a combined cost of $1,300. In 1960, with Steve just 2 weeks old, they moved permanently to the San Angelo area. Janice was born in 1965. Lewis kept on flying as much as he could, but when there was no flying work he would drive a truck.
In 1970 he organized Roach Spraying Service and operated it until selling to another spraying service in 1995. In 1998 he was awarded the "Old Timers Award" by the Texas Agricultural Aviation Association. He continued to fly and spray until 2004 when he fell off of a trailer and injured his knee too badly to pass a flight physical. He often said, "I quit counting my flying hours at 40,000."
Between then and now, he has largely enjoyed NASCAR, the weather, grandkids and of course whatever Helen was cooking. His sweet tooth was legendary and never faded.
Lewis is survived his wife Helen; children Steve and Robbie (of San Marcos) and Janice (of Veribest); grandchildren Caitlin, Stephen, Jack, Sarah, Michael and Taylor; great grandchildren Harley and Miley; his sisters Mary Lee and Jackie. In addition, there are numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and outlaws.
He was predeceased by brother Jerry, his sister-in-law Beverly and sister Martha.
A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, September 5" at Veribest Baptist Church.
The service will be at 11:00 followed by a lunch.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Lewis C. Roach Memorial Scholarship Endowment at Angelo State University, which will support students in Angelo State's Aviation Program. Gifts may be made payable to ASU Foundation and mailed to ASU Foundation, ASU Station #11023, San Angelo, TX 76909. Please note "Lewis C. Roach Scholarship" in the memo line.
The family would like to sincerely thank all those who prayed for and supported us. We truly felt the Body of Christ.
We would also like to mention the extraordinary professionalism of Shannon Hospital, Sagecrest Alzheimer's Care and the Home Instead Group.