On Thursday, June 21st, 2001 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Roy Snell lost his battle with Liver Cancer.

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Roy was in the estimation of many people, one of the finest human beings to ever walk the face of the Earth. He was an amazingly kind and positive human being and one that I have always been proud to call my friend. The world will never be the same place without him, but his love and his compassion will live on in all those he touched.

The good news is that Roy achieved the goal that he hoped for: he died with over twenty years of continuous recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction.

For those of you who knew him, I want to share how I met Roy. I was standing around after the conclusion of the Monday Night Young People's Group in Oakley, a suburban neighborhood in Cincinnati. I had only been clean and sober myself for less than six months. I spotted Roy looking really strung out and clearly in the grip of withdrawals. I was at the meeting with my Step-dad and my mom. I asked Margaret (my mother), "who is that?" She replied, "Oh, that's Roy. He's really a sad case." Well, I was intrigued and had to meet him. When I was introduced, he could not actually speak a complete sentence. Roy was forty years old, the same age as me as of this writing. He was clearly losing the battle with addiction. The miracle is that Roy had reached his bottom and was on the brink of a spiritual experience.

I was lucky enough to spend most of the next year with Roy almost every day. We worked together helping George Brooks (a wonderful friend of recovering people) and Sig Fey (a less-fortunate victim of alcoholism) maintain their properties in the Walnut Hills area. During those many hours and days, we grew to know and love each other. We listened to a lot of taped speakers, discussed the Big Book and generally grew up together.

I will always owe Roy a debt of gratitude. He gave me a lot of help at accepting myself by loving the real me. I feel that reciprocating was easy.

My sincere hope is that I can always remember his example and in some way share with those I meet the same unconditional love Roy shared so freely with me.

Goodbye my friend. I will love you always. Be at peace. When I see you again, I will be smiling.

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