Francis Arthur Royce, Sr,

Mr. Francis Arthur Royce, Sr., 89, passed away on Monday, August 12, 2019 at Tift Regional Medical Center.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 17 at 11:00 A.M. in the Chapel of Albritton Funeral Directors, with Rev. Chip Grantham officiating and eulogies by his daughter; Ledra Royce Bailey and grandson; Wes Ehlers. Interment will follow at Oakridge Cemetery.  The family will receive friends on Friday, August 16 from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at the funeral home.

Pallbearers for Mr. Royce will be his grandsons and Forest McAllister.

Mr. Royce was born on September 2, 1929, in Washington, D. C. to the late Wilford Royce and Mary Lillian Elliott Royce. He was a veteran of the United States Navy where he served in the Seabees. He graduated from Western High School in Washington, D. C., and continued his education at Montgomery College in Takoma Park, MD, where he was also employed with Chesapeake and Potomac Phone Co.  He began as a lineman, and ended his career in management with the South West Bell Company in Texas. As a member of First United Methodist Church of Tifton, Mr. Royce was very active in the church activities and in the Masons and Shriners. He especially enjoyed woodworking and possessed hundreds of tools.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Royce was preceded in death by his brother, Wilford Royce.

Survivors of Mr. Royce include his wife, Peggy Darby Royce of Tifton; a daughter and son-in-law, Ledra and Carl Bailey of Boynton Beach, FL; a son and daughter-in-law, Francis Arthur Royce, Jr and Mary of Cumberland, MD; a daughter and son-in-law Debrah and John Ehlers of Tifton; six grandchildren, Mark and Misty Ehlers, Tara and Erick Hienz, Loree and Jim Mallory, Jennifer and Keith Gosse, Meredith and Paul Burkhart and Wes and Ericka Ehlers; eight great-grandchildren, Cheyenne and E. J. Harris, Peyton Ehlers, Ellie Gosse, Zara Gosse, Garrett Gosse, Connor Hienz, Keegan Ehlers and Pendley Ehlers; and one sister Margaret Hoyle of Gaithersburg, MD.

Albritton Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.