“Roy B. Carr, of Cedarville
Ohio, entered heaven, his eternal home, and into the presence of his Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ on October 6, 2025.”
This opening to Roy’s obituary [Click HERE.]
began the published tribute to Roy whom I am still privileged to call my friend
and brother in Christ.
Roy passed into glory almost exactly one month after another brother in Christ
whom we both shared; namely, Dwayne Frank [Click HERE
to read more.]. Roy and Dwayne had first
met, in 1956, when young Roy had agreed to drive a freshman student from their
homes in western New York state to a rural town in southwest Ohio where the
freshman would begin studies at Cedarville College. Roy’s plan was to return the same day to his
home in New York, but another Cedarville student asked him to share his room
for an overnight. That student was
Dwayne Frank, thus beginning their long friendship and eventually service
together as godly husbands, Roy to Alberta, and Dwayne to JoAnn. Both Roy and Dwayne eventually graduated from
Cedarville College, and enjoyed seeing some of their offspring graduate as
well, including a “Carr son” (Dave) who married a “Frank daughter” (Stephanie).
Both the Carr’s and the Frank’s eventually raised their families in Cedarville,
Ohio. They both served as teachers,
deacons at Grace Baptist Church, and godly examples in their contribution along
with their wives in support of the ministries of their church, in what became
Cedarville University, and in functions of the Village of Cedarville and
beyond. I remember the many times Roy’s
wife, Alberta, assisted me while she served faithfully on the staff of the university
bookstore.
I have two fond memories of Roy. First,
was his ministry to us in church, both in solo or in quartet with other men including
Dwayne Frank, Bob Abbas, Dave Matson, Ron Smith, and Dave McFarlane. Wonderfully, Roy sang his last public solo
during Dwayne’s memorial service, as I noted earlier, just 3 weeks before his
own. [For a short video clip of Roy’s
solo, “When We All Get to Heaven,” click HERE.]
My second memory is serving with Roy as deacon at Grace Baptist Church. As his obituary clearly states, “he served
most of his adult life as a church deacon, championing benevolence—discreetly
caring for the financial and material needs of people in his Cedarville village.“ Roy and I were privileged to launch a
ministry of caring, called “Skilled Servants,” for those with special needs in
the church and community, particularly as related to electrical, plumbing, and
other household repairs and improvements.
“Mr. Carr” loved his students both as teacher and coach.
Although he was a tall brawny man with a deep voice, gentle and encouraging,
Mr. Carr became particularly forceful when he would see a student being
bullied. I know a father whose son was
called into the principal’s office to give an account for shoving another
student into a hallway trophy case and shattering the glass onto the floor. As I recall the story, after Mr. Carr learned
that the student who did the shoving was acting in defense of another student who
was being bullied, Mr. Carr stood in defense of “the shover.” Years later, Mr. Carr would agree to write a
strong letter of recommendation for him.
Well, I have written more than would have been necessary, given the inspiring
tributes Roy received from several of his five sons, both in words and in their
testimonies in life: Scott, David, Dan,
Tom, and Steve. You will see links to
their tributes below. Our prayers
continue for Alberta and family as they remember Roy "Beautiful" Carr.
LINKS TO
SERVICE AND TRIBUTES:
Memorial
service: [Click HERE.]
Tribute by Son, David: [Click HERE.]
Tribute by son, Dan: [Click HERE.]
Tribute by son, Tom: [Click HERE.]
Tribute by son, Steve: [Click HERE.]
No
Bullying (Byron Shearer): [Click HERE.]
Obituary: [Click HERE.]
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