Roy L. DeVries Of Garden City And Westhampton Beach Dies March 19 - 27 East
logo logo logo logo

Obituaries / Southampton Press / 1692669

Roy L. DeVries Of Garden City And Westhampton Beach Dies March 19

icon 1 Photo
Roy L. DeVries

Roy L. DeVries

author27east on Mar 30, 2020

Roy L. DeVries of Garden City and Westhampton Beach died on March 19. He was 89 years old.

He grew up in Bay Ridge and attended PS 185 and Brooklyn Technical High School. Mr. DeVries started his career selling stickers and parlayed that into a successful career in toy industry advertising sales.

He helped launch a magazine called Toy & Hobby World in the early 1960s. Ever the entrepreneur, Mr. DeVries went into mergers and acquisitions with Victor Niederhoffer to buy toy companies. He developed games like Perfection and opened his own game company, Just Games, in 1978.

Mr. DeVries produced the first murder-mystery party game and a best-selling board game, the Orient Express Mystery Detective Game.

He met his wife, Dee, in 1960 at a brokerage house. They fell in love and were married for 58 wonderful years. They had two children, Joy (married to John Heinze) and Linda (married to Ronald Howarth), and have four grandchildren, Justin, Dillon, Kevin, and Jillian. They will all miss him dearly, family members said.

Mr. DeVries’s passionate love of the beach was unsurpassed, his family said.

In the 1970s, Roy and six other members of the Swordfish Beach Club purchased the club. It is broadly felt that these seven men saved the club and made it what it is today — a place where memories and friends are made for a lifetime, his family noted.

Mr. DeVries loved a sunny beach day, his family said, watching the waves, riding his boogie board, walking the beach, or just talking to his friends at the shoreline about the stock market or current affairs.

Always a gentleman, his family said, he was enthusiastic, relentlessly positive, smiling, saying hello, and kidding around. Mr. DeVries will be remembered for wearing his hat, a yellow T-shirt, board shorts, and a Swordfish white towel around his neck, his family noted.

A life-long fan of the Knicks, Mr. DeVries loved basketball and hockey. Whether in the racetrack stands at Belmont and Aqueduct or in front of the TV, he was an avid thoroughbred handicapper. Race after race, he would loudly cheer the jockey or the horse’s number like he was trackside, his family recalled.

Mr. DeVries loved watching tennis, especially the U.S. Open, and playing doubles with good friends. He always had the daily newspaper in-hand.

Roy was buried in a private family ceremony at Westhampton Cemetery.

There will be a memorial service this summer at the Swordfish Beach Club.

You May Also Like:

Smithtown Who? Bonac Football Rolls, 45-7

By Jack Graves Smithtown West’s coaches, when asked by a reporter before Saturday’s football game ... 5 Oct 2025 by Drew Budd, Sports Editor

Bill's Impact

I believe that the shutdown of the federal government is needed to correct the severe impact of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” and Donald Trump’s proposed budget will have on the health of all Americans. Our congressman, Nick LaLota, identified some of the short-term shutdown impact, including air traffic controllers, federal workers and troops risk missing paychecks, potential interruptions at VA medical centers, and the fact that local nutrition programs for seniors and oversight of nursing homes “could” be weakened [“Striking Hypocrisy,” Letters, October 2]. Brookhaven National Lab scientists and engineers could see their work disrupted. However, Congressman LaLota does not ... by Staff Writer

Take It Seriously

The town clerk’s position is not one where you can just show up and hope for the best. This position must be taken seriously, and current Southampton Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer and her staff do just that. Extensive knowledge is crucial. On-the-job training is exactly what Southampton Town does not need. It is important to vote, and I’m confident that registered voters, of all political stripes, in the Town of Southampton will vote wisely. With all the chaos and confusion existing on the national level, we cannot bring that same climate to the office of the town clerk. Early voting ... by Staff Writer

The New GOP

Our representative, Nick LaLota, must have been sniffing glue before he decided to pen his recent letter [“Striking Hypocrisy,” Letters, October 2]. With his usual laziness, he strikes out against Democrats for their procedural right to draw a government shutdown, calling the maneuver reckless. But I need not remind Mr. LaLota that our current brand of obstructive politics was born by Tea Party Republicans who forced a similar shutdown against Barack Obama for much dumber reasons: passage of the widely supported and beneficial Affordable Care Act. The same Republican Party that blocked the nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016. The ... by Staff Writer

Inspiring Exercise

I am writing to highlight a senior wellness group led by an 85 years young resident, Jim Dreeben. It is a positive story of people walking together to improve body, mind and soul. We walk over the Ponquogue Bridge five days a week and engage in squats, push-ups and planks to strengthen our bodies and encourage good mental health. Just breathing the air and seeing nature in full bloom every season is inspiring. The benefits are positive. Perhaps you will feature a story about this group in hopes of motivating others to engage in this wonderful activity. Donna McKinney Hampton ... by Staff Writer

Going With Sundy

I am an independent voter who doesn’t subscribe to a red or blue voting line. Rather, the candidate alone earns my vote. Just recently, we saw the GOP bury George Santos for embellishing his resume (embellishing is an understatement). Next, we saw the local Dems anoint John Leonard for Southampton Town Council, essentially ignoring some specious pieces of his background. But now for something completely different: an attempt by the Democrats to unseat a multi-term clerk who has earned their endorsements for multiple elections in the past. Sundy Schermeyer is the clerk — check out her website, Shermeyer4townclerk.com. Years of ... by Staff Writer

Stronger Than Greed

Donald Trump has not kept those campaign promises he made that benefit others: lowering food costs, deporting violent illegals, making life better and more affordable for average Americans, or ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. He has been extremely successful, however, in achieving what benefits him: tax breaks for him and his wealthy friends, power positions in all areas of his administration for his loyalists, using any branch of government to prosecute his political or personal rivals, and financially benefited from elevating cryptocurrency. As an added bonus, he entirely redecorated the Oval Office in his favorite color: gold. He ... by Staff Writer

A Journaling Life

This summer, my garden faced tough challenges, between intense heat and sprinkler troubles. By October, the plants have given up, and so have I. This is the perfect time to take stock and plan for next year. Will I remember that the white bearded iris need to be divided and moved? Probably not. Among my many journals, I keep a garden notebook. I make a point of dating all my entries. That’s how I knew that the osmanthus, commonly known as false holly, planted across the front yard was not a fast grower as I was told. After five years ... by Denise Gray Meehan

Remembering a Legend

A celebration of the life of Jules Feiffer, the brilliant cartoonist, playwright and screenwriter who passed away at 95 in January, and lived and worked for decades on the East End, was just held at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. The event, “In Memory and Celebration” of Feiffer, included reflections by people who knew and loved him, with two musical performances and a multimedia presentation of photos and videos of Feiffer that included humorous comments by him. “For me, Jules will never be gone,” said his widow, Joan Holden, an author herself, writing under the name J.Z. Holden. Indeed, ... by Karl Grossman

Ecumenical Patriarch Honors Father Alex Karloutsos, Elevates Hamptons Greek Orthodox Church to Cathedral

Father Alex Karloutsos of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the ... by Cailin Riley