Roy Junior Mahaffey, 93, passed away on Sunday, March 21, 2021, at his residence. He was born Oct. 16, 1927, in Catawba; a son of the late Roy E. and Hazel (Reckart) Mahaffey.
He married the late Roberta Kisner Mahaffey, who died May 4, 2007, on Oct. 20, 1947, and they raised their three daughters in Smithtown.
Junior is survived by his three daughters, Karen Boore and her husband Rick, Debbie Short and Dianne Graff and her husband Bruce; his grandchildren, Shannon (Matt) Messenger, Sean (Jessica) Eddy, Rebecca Kisner and Amy Boore; great-grandchildren, Hannah, Hayley and Luke Messenger and Jacob, Landon and Macy Eddy; his brother, Delbert Mahaffey and his wife Mary Jo; and his sister-in-law, Marilyn Mahaffey.
In addition to his parents and besides his wife, Junior was preceded in death by his sons-in-law, Bill VanGilder, Roger Eddy and Jim Short; his grandchildren, Jonathan VanGilder, Bethany Boore and Mark Kisner; his sisters, Kate Bogdan and Woody Prahl; and his brother, Lanta Lee Mahaffey.
Roy attended East Fairmont High School then joined the Navy during World War II. He received his GED through the veterans. He became an electrician and a welder.
Roy was a World War II Navy veteran; he was 46 nautical miles offshore on ship when the bomb was dropped on Japan. He spent his 18th birthday in Japan with no coat, and they burnt scraps of wood in a barrel to keep warm.
Roy was a member of the Fairmont First Church of the Nazarene. He served on the church board, served as an usher, helped build the Education Wing of the church, ran the sound system and drove the church bus for several years. In June of 2012, he received the Distinguished Service Award from Fairmont First Church of the Nazarene which read: “For continued dedication service to the Lord’s Kingdom at Fairmont First Church of the Nazarene. Your steps may have slowed, your eyes weakened, your body ache, but you nonetheless still contribute to the needs of those who ask your assistance. Sharing and Caring Cancer Group, Woodman of the World and Work and Witness thru the Church of the Nazarene.” In June of 2011, he was “Cancer Survivor of the Year” in the Celebration of Life, and he participated in many of the Relay for Life Cancer Survivor Walks. He was a member of Woodman of the World and he served as a Trustee on Catawba Cemetery Trust Fund.
When he was 14 years old, he would walk from Catawba to White Day Golf Course in Smithtown to caddy for 25 cents for the day and then walk back home.
When Roy was 16, he received the Life Saving Citation for the Boy Scouts of America for saving the life of Tom Gray from drowning in the Monongahela River near Jordan.
Junior worked for Imperial Ice Cream, Kisner Construction, Davey Tree Company, B&O Railroad, T. A. Chapman, Sharon Steel, Mountaineer Electric and Marion Engineering. He loved being the “co-pilot” for Danny Moran, of Moran’s Auto Sales as they would pick up wrecked cars.
Junior went on several work and witness trips to Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela and Hawaii. He and his wife helped sponsor a church along with their daughter, Debbie Short in memory of their grandson, Jonathan VanGilder in Coban, Guatemala. Junior made wood crafts to raise money for the Sharing and Caring Cancer Group. He loved working with wood and making Christmas trees out of coat hangers and tinsel. Junior enjoyed hunting and golf and watching the West Virginia Girl’s basketball team and softball games. Softball games were always special to him because that is what the love of his life, Ro, was doing the first time he saw her; playing short stop on a softball team at Catawba.
Thank you to the staff from Amedisys Home Health for caring for him over the years and to Hospice for caring for him the last few weeks of his life. Thank you to Dr. Cora Darrah of J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital for the years of being his special doctor and friend. Thank you to Kim Hicks of WV Caring for being his caregiver the last year and half.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Sharing and Caring Cancer Group-in care of: Wendy Williams, 433 East Grafton Rd., Fairmont, WV, 26554.
Daddy’s girls would call their Mom on the phone and ask, “What’s Daddy doing?” Mom would know that one of the girls needed help with something and Daddy would come and fix, repair or replace whatever was needed. And now we don’t have to ask … “What’s Daddy doing?”
Family and friends are welcome to call at Carpenter and Ford Funeral Home, 209 Merchant St., Fairmont, from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday and from 1-8 p.m. Wednesday. Visitation will be continued at Fairmont First Church of the Nazarene, 1604 Morgantown Ave., Fairmont, from 10 a.m. Thursday, March 25, until the funeral service at 11 a.m. with Pastor Larry Barkley, Chaplain Wendy Browne, and Pastor Scott King officiating. Interment will follow at Mount Zion Cemetery where full military honors will be conducted by the U.S. Navy and the local Veterans Military Honor Guard.
Condolences:
www.carpenterandford.com
