Roy was the youngest of 10 children born to William Henry Blitch and Elizabeth Estille Hall Blitch. He was married to Lucy Lee Shepard and father of Billy Blitch(William Hardee Blitch).


He was a quiet, very unassuming person. One could set his clocks by him. But, perhaps I need to start at the beginning. Roy Hardee Blitch was born on 29 Sep 1883 to William Henry Blitch and Elizabeth Estillee (Hall) Blitch. The youngest of 10 children, he was born in Interlachen, Clay County, FL. His name? Family history has it that Grandma Blitch had run out of names by the time he was born, so he was named for the circuit rider preacher they had at the time. Uncle Roy was a small framed man, but size never entered in with the life he led.

He registered for the draft in Gadsden County FL 5 Jun 1917 while employed by the Quincy State Bank. He had left the life he knew in Clay County, FL to live in Quincy, Gadsden County, FL with his older brother, Raeford Elbert Blitch (born in Sharon, Clay County, FL on 20 Dec 1885). Raeford, who had opened a feed and seed store, was in need of a bookkeeper. So, Uncle Roy, who had an eye for numbers, went to work for my grandfather Raeford who is known to us grandchildren as ‘Big Daddy'. Thus another family member was transplanted to west FL. Uncle Roy was an early bird, going to bed by 9:00 P.M., asleep by 9:30 P.M., awake by 4:30 A.M. He was going about his daily routine by 5:00 A.M. He never missed a second. Always at work by 6:30 A.M. Uncle Roy retired in 1969 from Parramore's Salvage in Mt. Pleasant, Gadsden County, FL as their bookkeeper. Parramore's was in Mt. Pleasant-only 7 miles down the road. As Uncle Roy used to say" I got a little ways to go to get there", but then, interstates confounded him and he never drove on one. Uncle Roy's desk is still pretty much the same as the day he left. ..paper clips and all. A friend will let me know if the business decides to give up some of Uncle Roy's things so I may have them. What treasures!

By age 28, Uncle Roy had met the love of his life - Lucy Lee Sheppard-born 2 July 1905 in Quincy, Gadsden FL at her parents home on Franklin Street. So, on 12 July, 1922, the two were married in Quincy, Gadsden. FL. Aunt Lucy Lee may have been the love of his life, but money played a role in how his life was shaped. As a teenager, I loved to hear his stories about "the good ole days". His favorite story? His honeymoon. He never was able to get over the fact that the train ticket for Aunt Lucy Lee and him was $ 2.50 a piece to travel to Jacksonville, Duval County, FL from Quincy. The boat ride from Jacksonville to visit family in Clay County had to have "cost him a pretty penny" as he would never discuss that price. He would only say that he guessed that they had a good time.

Uncle Roy and Aunt Lucy Lee could never have children. They went with my grandparents, Raeford Elbert Blitch and Mary (Mae) Dupont Lines Blitch (born 29 July 1886 in Lake City, Columbia County, FL) to an orphanage in Jacksonville in the late summer of 1932. My grandmother, Big Bobbie to all of her grandchildren, wanted to adopt, but it didn't work out for her. It did for Uncle Roy and Aunt Lucy Lee. Adoption was not a part of Uncle Roy's plan at that time, but who could resist one and a half year old Billie? So, William Hardee, aka Billie, came to live on Franklin Street in Quincy with them. Billie, who was born on 1 April 1931, was a wonderful child, loving to his parents and talented in many ways. Billie skipped May day practice at school one day to go swimming at Lake Mystic in Chattahoochee, Gadsden County, FL. He did a surface dive and never came up. Uncle Roy and Aunt Lucy Lee were devastated, but their faith in God made them carry on. They always loved the water, and because of them, I do also. I never feared anything as long as I was around them.

While growing up, a lot of my life revolved around Uncle Roy and Aunt Lucy Lee. They were literally grandparents to me. Mother would say ‘no' to me and Uncle Roy would say ‘yes'. There was always a Coke and some crackers when I went to their home…a tradition that held even to my two children.

Christmas Day was always spent at the Big House, where we lived at 302 West Washington Street, in Quincy, Gadsden County, FL. I was always responsible for their two stacks of presents. They always opened their presents in the den, just the two of them. They never wanted to bother the rest of us in the living room.

Uncle Roy was always very good natured and loved a good joke. But you didn't change his schedule, even a minute. So the niece, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews took him out for supper in Tallahassee for his birthday When it became 9:00 P.M., and he realized we were just finishing the festivities, he really became verbal, but not in an ugly way. He let us know he was the oldest in the family and it was past his time to go home. He had to go to bed. Of course, we finally admitted that keeping him out "late" had been part of the plan.

In Uncle Roy's later years, he was hospitalized on a number of occasions. On one such occasion, my mother's youngest brother, John Allen (born 29 July 1925 in Quincy, Gadsden County, FL) realized that Uncle Roy wasn't getting his toddy that he had every afternoon at 5:00. Permission was granted for my Uncle Johnny to give him the toddy at 5:00 every day. After four days, Uncle Roy had improved enough to leave them hospital for home. On another occasion, while in the hospital, no one could understand why he wasn't getting better. Again, Uncle Johnny to the rescue. At two and a half years old, my daughter Carrie was allowed to go up and see him. When I walked into the room ahead of Carrie, all Uncle Roy said was "Where is my Miss America?" Carrie was able to visit for about a half an hour, and two days later, Uncle Roy went home.

Now about Carries nickname. When she came home from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Tallahassee, Leon County, FL where she was born at 10:51 P.M. on 5 Dec 1974, Uncle Roy and Aunt Lucy Lee came to see her for the first time. I had told them her name was Catherine Rochelle Hubbard and that we were calling her Carrie. I still have the picture of them with her that day, as when they saw her, they just stood there, starring at her. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was only about five minutes, Uncle Roy looked at Aunt Lucy Lee and said " That's Miss America". And Miss America was what he called her from then on. It was on every card and present addressed to her.

Uncle Roy never had children of own except Billie, but all of his nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews were his children. He is buried in Eastern Cemetery, Highway 90, Quincy, Gadsden County, Florida. Alongside him is buried his beloved Lucy Lee and his son Billie. Aunt Lucy Lee died in Quincy on 6 Sep 2002, and Billie drowned on 5 May 1948. It is known to the locals as the Sheppard plot as Aunt Lucy Lee's parents are also buried in this plot. My grandfather, Big Daddy, Uncle Roy's older brother, died in Coral Gables, Dade County, FL and is buried around the bend in the road at Eastern Cemetery with my grandmother, my parents, my nephew, as well as two of their daughters and three of their sons.

Composed by Mary Catherine Harmon Kidd