Obituary of Roy Kenneth Griess

Roy K. Griess died peacefully at his Wappingers home on April 22, 2025. 

Born July 13, 1930 in Williamsport, PA, Roy was the youngest son of Ruth and Heinz Griess (deceased).  He is survived by his loving wife of 72 years, Emily (Antes) Griess, an older brother, Richard Griess, and his two sons, Kevin and David, residing locally.  A second brother William, recently passed. 

As a young boy, he and his brothers were members of the first Little League Baseball teams in Williamsport.  He spent the first part of his adult years in the USAF where he was stationed in Montgomery, AL.  Following that, he pursued his EE degree at Penn State and later found his first job at RCA in NJ.  He moved the family up to the Hudson Valley in 1966 where he worked for IBM for 23 years. While there, he had several patents to his name.   He was musically inclined at an early age and played drums. Vibraharp, piano and organ with equal proficiency.  In the summer growing up, the sounds of his organ playing filled the neighborhood.  He always loved music and built his own record cabinet to store his sizeable collection of albums.  To show his love for his wife, he wrote a song for her and went through the painstaking process of getting it copyrighted.   Besides music, he had an interest in woodworking and built many pieces of furniture in his younger years, and also a wooden go-cart for us kids which we have to this day.   Another love was trains, especially model trains. He would set up his Lionel trains around the holidays for us kids and control them with circuits he designed.  He fantasized about being a train engineer while growing up before later becoming an electrical engineer.  His list of loves would not be complete without his love for chocolate ice cream, which he never refused seconds of.

Roy was an honest man with a kind heart and a great sense of humor who loved his wife and family dearly.  He was a wonderful husband and a great father.  He and his wife have been members of the Poughkeepsie United Methodist church since their move to Dutchess Co.  He will be sorely missed by his family and all who knew and loved him.  May he rest in eternal peace.

Services will be held at the Louise Wortman Mausoleum in the Fishkill Rural Cemetery (on the right as you drive in) at 11:30, Monday, April 28.