Reverend Roy Holton
June 2, 1943 – September 8, 2026
On Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Roy Herbert Holton peacefully passed into the presence of Our Lord and Saviour at Innisfree Hospice, Cambridge.
Roy was the youngest child born to Frank and Lois Holton (nee Herbert) on June 2, 1943.
He grew up in Brantford where he attended Brantford Collegiate Institute.
Upon graduation, Roy attended Hamilton Teacher’s College and taught English and Drama at Dixon Grove Middle School, Toronto.
Responding to a call of ministry, Roy attended Emmanuel College, Victoria University of Toronto, where he met the love of his life Margaret Elizabeth Rigsby. They married in December 1978 and moved to Saskatchewan where Roy settled following the ordination by The United Church of Canada.
With over 20 years of active ministry, Roy was called to Toronto and Cambridge, and supplied a number of congregations including Glen Morris, Ancaster, Kitchener, Waterloo, Burlington and concluded his formal ministry with 4 years preaching at West Montrose. He also spent several months in South Africa on a ministerial exchange.
Roy was also active in the wider church, serving on the Hamilton Conference Interview Board, chairing pastoral relations in Toronto West then Waterloo Presbyterian, and took his turn as Chair of the Waterloo Presbytery.
Roy was a valuable member of the Men’s Spirituality Group that met for more than 20 years at Five Oaks Education Centre in Paris.
Predeceased by his wife Margaret in 2015, his parents Lois and Frank, his sisters Margaret and Irene. Survived by his nieces and nephews Susan Clavette, (Bruce), Karen Eldridge (Paul)
Jimmy Rook (Sharla) Nancy MacGregor (Bruce) David Rook and nephews Rand and Paul Stapleton, along with his brother-in-law Jim Rigsby (Jeannette).
He is eternally grateful to his many friends and family who have been diligent in their support of him through his lung cancer diagnosis and for the care and compassion shown to him from the Lisaard and Innisfree Hospice.
Friends and Family are invited to gather to celebrate Roy’s life at Wesley United Church, Cambridge, on October 24th 2026 at 2 p.m. Expressions of sympathy can be made to Lisaard House or Innisfree Hospice or Wesley United Church, Cambridge.
