Roy's Hobbies & Interests

Hobbies were the fabric of this renaissance man's career and retirement. This avid inventor loved challenge and was passionate about learning. His varied interests and passions found expression in many hobbies and pastimes, from playing roulette and blackjack, collecting coins and stamps, to devising new culinary delights, fishing for salmon, and growing flowers and vegetables.

Collecting

Roy was a passionate collector from early childhood on. He focused his considerable energies throughout his life on three major collections: seashells, coins, and stamps.

Flowers & Gardening

Recipient of an award for the Best Private Garden during the Beautify Toronto campaign, Roy developed an ardent passion for flowers and gardening that was to become a lifelong hobby.

Fishing

Fishing trips peppered Roy's yearly cross-Canada tours, whether salmon fishing in the Pacific Northwest or sports fishing at lodges and resorts in Ontario.

Gambling

Gambling became a passion early on. Roy could often be found at blackjack and roulette tables in Las Vegas and Reno casinos. In the 1970s, he applied his considerable experience to writing an authoritative book on the subject.

Travel

Keen to travel, Roy enjoyed regular trips to Hawaii, Fiji, Las Vegas, and Tahiti, as well as travel in Canada and over thirty trips across the Atlantic.

Art & Painting

This amateur painter had quite an eye for art. He dabbled in watercolours and oil painting, was fond of contemporary art, and became an ardent collector of fine art paintings and objects.

Gourmet Cooking

Inventing new gourmet culinary delights was a source of great satisfaction to Roy, who loved entertaining and experimenting in the kitchen.