Obituary of Gary Roach

Gary Phil Roach, AKA "Pop", passed away on October 1, 2021 at the age of 73, in Clermont, Florida. His battle with cancer in recent years showed his courage in facing life challenges with a smile and always placing others needs in front of his own. Despite the pain, Gary came out a hero and stayed strong until the end making his own decisions unselfishly as he lived his whole life. He married the love of his life Trudy Richner, nearly 35 years ago, with whom they raised three amazing children as their own; and as luck would have it they inherited his quick wit, sense of humor and sophisticated sarcasm (Antoinette Ziccardi, Mark Ziccardi, and Michael Ziccardi). Gary adored his three grandchildren Cody Orent, Joscelyn Ziccardi, and Anthony Ziccardi. Gary is also survived by his brothers Lee Roach and Skip Kruger who still reside in New York. Pop taught his boys the finer art in how to shovel a snow-covered driveway, how to select the right ax for cutting firewood, the task of splitting firewood, stacking firewood, ageing firewood, relocating firewood and of course repeat. He took great pride in teaching them how to be self-sufficient and to be great people. Pop was proud of his family and leaves us with so many cherished memories it would be impossible to list them all. Gary was loved by many and will be missed. Pop was a simple man who enjoyed the simple things in life like his family, friends, sitting in the garage enjoying a Budweiser or 2 or 3, fried ham and egg sandwiches, spaghetti, warm bologna sandwiches, McDonalds French fries and of course hotdogs served with his special sauce recipe, of which we now have copies. Gary took fashion cues from no one. His signature every day look was all his: a plain pocketed T-shirt designed by the fashion house Fruit of the Loom, his blue jeans and a pair of old school steel toe boots, provided in part by the Orange County government center, and always paired with a baseball cap and his ten dollar Timex. Gary will be honored on November 10, 2021 at 1:00 PM at the Orange County Veterans Cemetery in Goshen New York.