Remembering Roy: Locals look back on the life of Roy Malool | news

He then met his first wife, Margot, on a blind date shortly after she immigrated to the United States from Finland. The two would later have three children; Susan, Melissa and Shayna. Margot and Melissa preceded him in 2005 and 2013, respectively. In 2006 he married Eeva from Helsinki, Finland.

Ahead of his time, he founded a waterborne coatings company called Roymal, Inc. in 1956. The company was the first of its kind to produce eco-friendly and food-safe bulk packaging printing materials. Based in Newport, the company supplies materials to manufacturers worldwide.

Many Newport projects can thank Malool for his help with planning and funding through the Roy Malool Family Foundation. Examples include the bronze bust of Sara Josepha Hale located outside the Newport Library Arts Center. While Malool was often generous with his funds, he was also generous with his time and love for the city of Newport.

“He loved Newport and wanted to keep it,” said Virginia “Biddy” Irwin while reminiscing about the life and times of Malool. “He will be missed; there’s no question. He was a force to be reckoned with.”

When approached about this story, several Newport residents spoke of the kindness, generosity and humor Malool has shared throughout his life.

After speaking with community members, it’s clear that for every incident of philanthropy Malool was known for, there are countless examples of how he gave Newport in secret.

“He’s been campaigning for the city for a lot longer than people probably knew, and he’s done so anonymously for a long time,” Brian Coronis said of his longtime family friend.

Coronis went on to explain that it was Malool who was directly responsible for him returning to Newport to buy his father’s business, Coronis Market, after moving to California. Coronis said Malool and Harold LaValley sat down with him and read him the “riot plot” to make sure he knew what he was getting into by buying the deal.

“Roy has always said he’s the board, so the Coronis board, and wanted to make sure I was doing things right, which is meant in his way,” Coronis said, laughing at Malool’s contribution.

Malool’s dedication throughout the city of Newport was seemingly limitless for many years. According to former Selectboard members, Malool did not often attend town meetings, instead reaching out to individuals on the board to discuss the many ways he hopes to improve Newport. In addition to making countless donations to groups, he has served on such bodies as the Newport Opera House Association and the Richards Free Library Arts Center. Malool was also heavily invested in the city’s education system.

“He was very concerned about our education system and wanted it to emulate some of the systems used in Finland,” Irwin recalls. “He once asked me to go to Boston to meet a famous Finnish educator while he was a visiting professor at Harvard. He was interested to see if we could adapt some of these to our system. We realized we couldn’t, but he was always looking for ways to improve the community.”

Aside from the significant contributions Malool made to the city of Newport, he is often cited as an incredibly humorous man who had a penchant for playing pranks on his friends, particularly George Dorr Jr. and Jim Lantz.

“When my father remarried my stepmother, they went on a honeymoon. When they got home, they found this [Malool] had left them an old rusty car with a rooster in it. He left a few bells under her bed and had all the toilets in the house wrapped in plastic. I remember my dad going out to feed the rooster in the morning after that,” Terry Dorr, son of Dorr Jr., fondly recalled the antics between his dad and Malool.

In recent years, Malool has known his health was failing, but that certainly hasn’t slowed him down. He managed to find a non-traditional way to fund artistic endeavors in Newport, which he loved dearly. According to several Newport residents, Malool intended to host a “funeral before death,” at which he approached the Newton-Bartlett Funeral Home to loan a coffin. He was planning to throw a funeral at the Newport Opera House where people could donate money to town charities. Although the plan did not materialize due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, it still managed to raise a significant sum of funds.

Malool’s time, dedication, and generosity to the city of Newport can’t be underestimated, but that didn’t stop him from treating everyone equally or being jaded. Newport residents fondly remember Malool coming to Coronis Market in his overalls to pick up stale bread ends to feed his fish.

“He treated everyone exactly the same; It didn’t matter what your background was. He was just a very down to earth guy,” Coronis said.

Jay Lucas, a businessman and former Newport resident, said he had the utmost respect for Malool. Lucas explains that he has become not only a close personal friend but also an important trusted partner in the development of Lucas’ Sunshine Initiative. Lucas notes that he will always remember this saying Malool said to him: “Jay, stay positive, stay positive!”

A memorial is currently being planned for a later date. Memorial donations can be made to the Newport Opera House Association, PO Box 351 Newport, NH 03773 or the Library Arts Center, 58 N. Main St. Newport, NH 03773.