Birth date: Oct 31, 1956 Death date: May 10, 2018
Roy Martin SeGuine, of Leesburg, VA, passed away on May 10, 2018. Roy was born on October 31, 1956 in Washington, DC to Roi and Dolores SeGuine. He grew up in Falls Church and attended Falls Church High School where he joined the Read Obituary
Roy's father Roi was a dear friend of mine, when we both worked at the Dept. of Interior. "Little" Roy was at my wedding in 1959, as an almost 3 year old. I was shocked to see the notice of his death in the George Mason University magazine this morning. He seems to have grown into a wonderful young man.
I’m deeply saddened to learn of Roy’s passing. We worked together at MITRE in the early nineties. He was intelligent, kind, and always smiling. My thoughts and prayers go out to Roy’s family and all his friends. He will be greatly missed.
If you read through these comments, one of the qualities that stands out about Roy was his generosity. He was generous with his time, his knowledge that he readily and happily shared, and his money when he had some to give. And as several friends have noted, Roy didn't ask for anything in return. Being generous was easy for him and brought him joy. Once when we were dating, Roy and I were window shopping and I saw a dress in a boutique window that I admired. We walked on and later he surprised me with the dress. It was a smidge too small but I hung on to that dress for many years as it reminded me of that sweet and loving gesture.
Roy took my brother Pat, who doesn't drive, to many concerts over the years. We also took him with us on many family vacations and Roy never once complained that he wanted it to be just our family of three. He treated Pat like a friend and brother. When he would drop off Pat at his apartment, he'd slip him a $20 bill if he had it.
Roy also liked to spoil our daughter Anna a bit. When she was small and believed in the tooth fairy, she would write the tooth fairy letters asking for a Webkinz stuffed animal, promising that she would be good. More than once when Anna would lose a tooth late in the evening, Roy would secretly race to Hallmark to pick up a Webkinz and slip it under her pillow after she fell asleep. I would say, "it's late, let's just put some coins under her pillow," but Roy was determined to give her this small gift, and to see her smile.
Recently I asked Roy to pick up basil and a few other groceries from the store for dinner while he was out. He went to Giant but they didn't have the basil, so he went to a second store to find it. The basil was not critical to get but Roy took the extra effort to get it for me. It’s a small thing but one more example of Roy’s generous spirit.
One time Roy and I had a conversation about envy. I told him I'd never seen him display even a hint of envy towards anyone, about anything, even in the early days of our marriage when he made a modest salary. He agreed that he was “lucky” he didn't grapple with envy and that he was content with what he had and what he was able to do in life. He was a man of few wants. I deeply admired that about him.
Roy was a truly good and decent human being, so gentle, kind, funny, and playful. I miss him every day and still can hardly believe he's no longer on this earth. He made his mark on earth through his many generous and thoughtful acts of kindness, supporting and lifting up his friends, and his commitment to being a loving husband and father.
My heart breaks for my sister and her daughter, Anna. Roy was always kind to me, especially when I might be down. He reached out several times to me to express his love for me and to build me up. He was wonderful and compassionate with our brother, Patrick and our mother. He was a special man, indeed. I hope that he is playing drums in heaven and has found peace. Miss you Royster!
Roy Seguine was a wonderful friend and an incredibly smart and advanced drummer. We met at a clinic many years ago and started talking. We clicked. This doesn’t happen often to me. Before I even knew his name we were talking about very deep stuff in drumming and he got it- all of it right away. He became “one of those guys” to me- who I really related to, understood and he fired back more cool stuff about the art we both love.
So I was in Europe when Dolores his mom told me the sad news of his passing and I was shocked & in disbelief that he was gone. I thought I must be thinking of someone else, not Roy.
We had a long distance relationship I really counted on. Being isolated at times in Japan or touring we always kept in touch every few months emailing the latest stuff we were thinking about and I truly appreciated this connection. He was one of only a few guys in drumming I felt I could talk to.
He came out to dw a few times for Thomas Lang’s intensive workshops & we worked together on his “Coordinator “ project. As a savvy tech guy and having the heart to share how to learn, he created software to help students learn my ostinato concepts so they could conceivably do anything with any limbs and any basic rhythm permutations. They could program it, here it and see it written. I thought it was ingenious!
Anywhere I toured or played near his home, he would come see me. He would never let me put him on the list & always payed. I always looked forward to seeing him & talking afterwards. And honestly, if he was in the audience I was really playing for him because I knew he understood me.
One of the first things we spoke about was Maestro Efrain Toro’s harmonic rhythm concepts. We both experienced the challenges and excitement of trying to grasp his teachings. ( & not being able to sleep for a few days while trying to see what we could not yet see!)
So one time I wrote some exercises called “Implication Morphing”. To me, very complex at the time dealing with odd melodic sticking patterns written in every way I could think of but still using the original sticking. It pulled time in many directions like an Afro-Carribian percussion ist would play but retaining the melody pattern of the sticking.
I enthusiastically shared it with Roy and a few days later he sent me a video of him playing it over a tricky ostinato of his. He sight read down the page perfectly! Something I can’t do even though I wrote it!
So yes this loss is really tough for me. I’m sure it’s way tougher for his family and close friends. I just wanted to share my personal experience with you to let you know we had a very special and specific spiritual connection in a very narrow and exclusive area of drumming. He helped me as much as he told me I helped him.
I’ll really miss him. I know he is with us in spirit and some day we will all get together again.
Sincerely,
Terry Bozzio
Hi friends. Here is Roy’s Life Celebration info:
Sunday, June 10 from 3-5pm
Loudoun Golf and Country Club.
36967 W Main Street
Purcellville, VA 20134
P 540-338-7679
http://loudoungolf.com/
Our hearts and prayers go out to your family. Peace and blessings. Marisa Reilly and Danny Gibbs
I worked with Roy several years ago and will always remember him as an inquisitive soul and perfectionist who was always working to improve his craft. While, we hadn't been in touch the last few years, he always popped up in my memory of people I enjoyed working with and knowing. I am truly sorry that I didn't take the time to spend time with him outside of work. His passing highlights how temporary our existence is here on earth and that what is most important in our lives is each other. Roy - I have learned much from you even if I never said a word.
I was so sorry to hear of Roy's passing. I had the pleasure and privilege of hearing him play drums at Marty's and I remember his great smile and kind spirit as much as his musical talent. My thoughts and prayers are with all of his family and his many friends at this time.
I just heard the news about Roy and am deeply saddened. Roy and I carpooled together on the very first day of a new job I took approximately 10 years ago. During that initial encounter, I instantly realized what a kind and good man he was.
Smart as all get out too. Roy was one of those people who you could tell was more interested in learning about other people as opposed to just talking about himself.
Roy's knowledge of music was amazing...and I was utterly delighted to find that we enjoyed the same bands. On two occasions I was able to meet Roy downtown to see a couple of shows.
Roy was indeed a special person. He was smart, capable, friendly, engaging, and enjoyed learning new things. But above all, he was a very decent human being. I'm sure he will be missed by all who knew him. But at the same time, I know they'll also take comfort in knowing how lucky they were to have him in their lives.
