On Friday, August 19, 2022, Ralph Coats Roe II, loving husband of Stacy W. Roe, died in his sleep at age 79. Born December 31, 1942, he grew up in Ridgewood, NJ. In his high school years, he graduated from the Gow School in South Wales, New York. Pursuing his passion for art, he received a degree in Fine Arts from University of Denver. After working a few years, he attended Columbia University where he received a Master’s Degree in Architecture. He married Stacy Wardrop in 1976, when they moved to Greenwich, CT and continued to reside until his death.
Ralph started his career in design and drafting at Burns and Roe Incorporated, a family owned, international power generation engineering firm. After receipt of his architectural degree, he formed an architectural partnership, ultimately becoming president of his own architectural firm Roe Design Group. The firm focused on industrial and commercial architectural projects in the New York City area, domestically and in select international locations. One of his proudest projects was the master plan for Pohang Institute near Seoul, South Korea.
His talent and love of the visual arts was evident in his early years. Ralph loved art and painted – mostly with oils – with a broad pallet of styles from realistic and landscapes to modern and contemporary. He loved color and mixing bright colors into geometric/free form shapes and interspersing small realistic subjects within the shapes. But his love of art took him to many media, including drawing, sculpture, woodworking, jewelry, photography and beyond. Ralph was an avid photographer, using large format and 35 mm cameras. His subjects were broad ranging from landscapes, seascapes, flowers, and portraits. His works often came back to his local environs and his summer residence of many years in Nantucket, MA. While he sold many of his paintings and photographs, his family members are the lucky beneficiaries of many of his works which adorn their homes. His own home is an art gallery of sorts, showcasing a wide variety of his works as well as those of many other artists.
During his years in Greenwich, Ralph was active in the community. It reflected his incredibly kind and generous nature to give to his community. He served with the Boy Scouts for many years and was active on the facilities committee at a time when there were major upgrades occurring at Seaton Scout Reservation. He was a member of the YGOP and participated in their events and for many years hosted an annual event at his home. He felt strongly about helping children so every year in early December he would host a “Toys for Tots” event at his home, often with Marines in attendance. They got a great haul of toys, with Ralph and Stacy a leading contributor. For many years Ralph attended the First Church of Round Hill and for a number of years sang in the choir. He also enjoyed golf and was a long time member of the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, CT and Sankaty Head Golf Club in Nantucket, MA. In later years, Ralph found an outlet for his artistic interests through a Greenwich based art gallery he owned and ran which featured some of his own art and other artists, with an emphasis on Ukrainian art.
A hallmark of knowing Ralph was that he had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to tell jokes. Besides being kind and caring, he was quite a jokester! No matter when you saw him, he always had a friendly smile and a good joke to greet you with. He maintained an extensive repertoire of jokes and he had a wonderful knack for telling them with great gusto! A conversation with Ralph typically began with a joke or two.
Ralph was the son of the late Kenneth A Roe and Hazel T. Roe, also of Greenwich. Ralph is survived by his wife, Stacy; three brothers, Randall, Keith and Bart; and his sister, Holly; and numerous nieces and nephews. We had thought we might have a little longer with Ralph, but it was not to be. His kind, caring, and fun-loving ways will be greatly missed by all who knew him and he will live fondly in our memories.
A service celebrating Ralph’s life will be held on Friday at 1 PM at First Church of Round Hill, 464 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT 06831. The livestreaming service connection https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/8963034146 . Please check greenwichfuneralhome.com for details. Memorial contributions may be made in Ralph’s name to Toys for Tots in Greenwich or Greenwich Adopt a Dog.
