Born just months before the stock market crash precipitated the Great Depression, Roy was the fifth and final child  of Julia and Martin Schonberg, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father immigrated from Estonia and became an electrician, while his mother was born and raised in a Swedish family in the Twin Cities. As a child Roy loved the year round outdoor activities in Minnesota with his two brothers and two sisters including boating, fishing and trapping.  He lived in Minnesota until the dawn of World War Two when, much to his disappointment, the family moved to Long Beach, California.

He attended Garden Grove High School in Orange County after his father bought a modest orange grove where Roy worked  picking fruit and developing his strong work ethic. In high school Roy was a standout athlete (football and track) and excelled in choir and drama.  After graduation in 1946, he attended California  Polytechnic College (Calpoly).  Next, he applied  to Washington State College (now WSU) to pursue a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (DVM). During his graduate studies, in less than a year, he met, proposed to and married fellow college student, Sylvia Thorstenson, on September 14, 1952 in Point Roberts, WA.

After earning his degree in 1954, Roy served in the army, taking care of dogs and horses as well as inspecting butter and meat bound for servicemen overseas.  While stationed in Chicago, Seattle and Tacoma, Roy and Sylvia rapidly expanded their household with the births of Thor (1954), Kristian (1955) and Paul (1956). After his military service ended, Roy and his family moved to Stanwood, Washington in the fall of 1956 where he became partners in the Northwest Veterinary Clinic. In Stanwood, the family grew to six with the addition of Laurie (1958), Julia (1960) and Kurt (1963). Unfortunately, the family lost Thor at ten years of age to a tragic train accident in 1964.

Roy kept very busy with work, raising children, leading at church, and strengthening family relationships in California, Alaska and elsewhere. Roy was active in Our Saviors Lutheran Church for over 60 years, singing for many funerals and serving as church council president and teaching Sunday school. In 1969, after 13 years in Stanwood,  Roy established a well loved small animal practice on College Way in Mount Vernon, WA.  In spite of working throughout the 1960's and 1970's 5 plus days a week with few vacations and being on call for emergencies, Roy attended his kids' sporting events, made time for family play and work time, and managed acreage with a huge garden, lawns and wood fired stove. He also supported his father Martin who built a home on the family property on the hill in Stanwood.

After he sold the clinic in 1981, Roy went to work in pathology as an FDA meat inspector until he retired in 1995 at age 66. During the 1980's Roy married Virgina Ness. He moved to north Camano Island where he spent the rest of his life.

Retirement for Roy included managing another big garden, rock hounding, making jewelry and crafts and of course yard work. He and his wife traveled to Palm Springs annually to see his siblings, to the Olympic Peninsula to walk in the "hairy" forest, and  to Hawaii to see the whales. He also kept a close eye on the comings and goings of the snow geese on Fir Island. Roy and his son Paul and his grandson Jason sang in the church choir and were regulars at the gym.

Roy enjoyed attending Husky football games and crew races with family as well. He was a prolific reader favoring mostly history but also ploughing through westerns and other fiction toward the end of his life. Like many in the Northwest, he was thrilled when the Seahawks made it to three Super Bowls, winning one and maintained optimism for his Mariners, especially this season when the Series seemed so close after almost 50 years of waiting.

Roy loved his family, animals, music and his community. He enjoyed singing, visiting, and playing his cello. Roy will be remembered for his work ethic and positive outlook on life. He served on church and fair boards, and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and Kiwanis.  When he talked to family on the phone, the sun was always shining or about to be and he was "real healthy". Anyone who has lived in Washington year round and been around people in their 90's knows this was only occasionally true. Nevertheless, even when hospitalized he worried about his family's health, not his own.

Roy died peacefully at home on a wet and windy night after several days of long Schonberg goodbyes from family members. He is the last member of his nuclear family to pass.  Roy is survived by his wife Virginia and Pepper the cat, Sylvia Schonberg, daughters Julia and husband Bill Menish, Laurie and her husband Jim Brown, sons Kristian and wife Janice Schonberg, Paul and his wife Lani Schonberg and Kurt and his wife Megan Schonberg. Also Roy is survived by his grandchildren Jon, Angela, Jason, Johannes, Karl, Franz, Waverly, Sierra, Ariel, Rebecca, Victor, Helena and Chloe. In addition he had eleven great grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11 am on Saturday January 3, 2026 at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Stanwood, WA. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to a charity of your choice.