Obituary of Rodney Royal

Rodney W Royal, 76, a lifelong resident of Poughkeepsie, NY passed away peacefully Wednesday, February 1, 2012 surrounded by his familly. Born on February 27th, 1935, he was the son of the late Grace and Vincent Royal and twin brother of Roger Royal who pre-deceased him. After serving in the United States Navy from 1952-1956 Royal went on to join the IBM Corporation where he spent 37 years before retiring in 1993. Throughout his career he held various positions with the longest tenure as Athletic Director, IBM Poughkeepsie. It was in this role in which he had the opportunity to do what he was truely passionate about which was work around sports each and every day, coordinating of all the sporting events that took place at the IBM Country Club, organizing team trips, sports banquets and award ceromonies. Royal was a sports enthusiast being a member of various bowling, basketball and fast-pitch softball teams throughout his life. As a spectator, his favorite teams were the New York Yankees, New York Giants and New York Knicks. When not playing sports, Royal could be found coaching or officiating. He was a basketball coach and referee in the C.Y.O organization at St. Mary's, baseball coach in the City of Poughkeepsie Little League organization, football coach in the City of Poughkeepsie Pop Warner Football League and was a local umpire for many years for both men's softball and little league baseball. Although he thrived on competition, teaching kids the fundamentals of the game is what he deeply loved about coaching. He was tough on his players and expected nothing less than their best but ask anyone who ever played for him and they will tell you he was always fair. For this reason, he was loved and well respected by his players and fellow coaches. Through a lifetime of passionate dedication to sport, Royal understood well the pride, self-discipline and self-respect that athletics can bring, but he also realized that these attributes could improve the lives of the kids he coached. In this way, he became much more than a coach to so many. He became a mentor, advisor and counselor, teaching them to take pride in themselves, and to recognize their capabilities "off the court". To those who lacked guidance, he provided direction, accepting the role of surrogate dad with the dignity, determination and sense of responsibility he'd showed throughout his life. Royal realized that feeding the neighborhood kids and taking them to ball games was important, but teaching them the life-lessons they might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn was even more so. For this he will be fondly remembered by the scores of boys he helped to mold into moral, thoughtful and dependable adults. Among his many accolades, while coaching the City of Poughkeepsie Giants in Pop Warner his teams won numerous city championships. They were so successful that the common council declared one week Pop Warner Week when they won. Also, in 1995 he was inducted into the Dutchess County Sports Museum Hall of Fame, an honor that brought him much happiness. After retiring, Royal turned his attention to mastering the game of golf and could be found days on end on the gold course. In addition to coaching, Royal was an active member of the Poughkeepsie community serving on the Board of Directors of the Catherine Street Community Center and being a "brother" in the Big Brothers of Dutchess County organization. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son Craig Royal of Poughkeepsie, NY, daughter Tracy Royal of New York City, two neices and a nephew, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The family extends their deepest gratitutude to the doctors and nurses who provided medical care for him. Also, with heartfelt appreciation, they want to thank the ICU nurses at Vasser Brothers Medical Center for their compassionate care. Calling hours and services will be held on Monday, February 6, 2012 at the Faith Assembly of God, 254 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie NY. Calling Hours from 9:30-10:30 am and the service at 10:30am with Pastor John Ogden officiating. The burial will take place immediately following the service in the Community Mausoleum of Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Professional services were entrusted to Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home, Inc, 371 Hooker Avenue, Poughkkepsie, NY.