Obituary: Leroy Frederick Schellhardt

0
52

NAUGATUCK – On Dec. 29, Leroy Frederick “Roy” Schellhardt died peacefully in his sleep at the Glendale Nursing Center in Naugatuck. He had just celebrated his 92nd birthday on Dec. 22, and had recently received a pin for 65 years of service in Freemasonry.

Roy had lived for six years in his nursing home, leading a monthly “sing-along” for residents. Before that, he lived in Waterbury for 18 years.

Services for Roy will be held at Prospect Memorial Home, located near the Prospect Post Office at 72 Waterbury Road. Viewing hours will be held 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, including a brief Masonic service at 6 p.m. The primary service will be held 11 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. Immediately after that, Roy will be buried, with military honors, next to his wife at All Saints Cemetery in Waterbury.

In lieu of flowers, Roy’s family requests that memorial contributions please be made to the Sphinx Shriners Funsters, c/o Stan Warner, 44 McKenna Drive, Middletown, CT 06457 or to the American Diabetes Association, 2080 Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill, CT 06067.

Roy was born and raised in Yonkers, N.Y. During World War II, he served in the United States Marine Corps. He also attended Yale University and Hartwick College. Then, he graduated from Bucknell University, which awarded him a B.S. in electrical engineering. While at Hartwick, Roy met Edith Irene Barhydt of Albany, N.Y. The two were married in 1946, after which they settled in northern New Jersey.

Following college, Roy worked for a year with the Lackawanna Railroad. After that, he moved to Western Electric, which was then the telephone production arm of AT&T and remained there until his retirement (to Connecticut). Roy also stayed married to Edith until her death in 2005.

Along the way, Roy earned an M.S. in electrical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. He was also an active church member and a Shriners’ clown, working with children. In addition, Roy joined Toastmasters International, a group which teaches public speaking skills, and ultimately rose to District Governor of District 46 (Greater New York).

Roy is survived by his son, Don Schellhardt, of Prospect, and his daughter, Joanne Schellhardt Jennings, of Geneseo, N.Y. Through Joanne, he has two grandchildren, Jill Jennings Mitchell (married to Steve Mitchell), of Canindaigua, N.Y., and Amy Jennings Gonzalez (married to Dan Gonzalez), of Lancaster, N.Y. Through Jill and Amy, he has five great-grandchildren, three girls and two boys.