Royce was born on February 4, 1928 in Seattle to Ollie E. and Ruth (Frost) Natoli.  Ollie worked for Bethlehem Steel and Ruth was a homemaker.  Royce had an older sister, Julianne and four years later was joined by another sister Cherie. They grew up in a small house in South Seattle.

As a boy in South Seattle, Royce was an avid athlete and excelled at boxing, tennis, football, soccer and swimming.  Royce (Red) was self-described as a skinny little runt but always stayed in top condition.  He continued boxing until the mid-1960s. He was active with the Associated Boys Club and served a term as president.   He graduated from West Seattle High School and attended Highline College and Seattle University where he was awarded a degree in Quality Control.

With the Korean war raging, Royce was drafted and quickly became a tank commander reaching the rank of Master Sargent in the 40th infantry division, Company B.  While commanding his tank, a Korean snipper shot Royce in the head. The helmet that Royce was wearing was confiscated because the hole in it was deemed bad for moral, however Royce was able to secretly regain possession of it.

After the war Royce married and had two children, Connie and Gregg.  He joined a local amateur football league, worked as a butcher in Pike Place Market and a grocery store in Burien. He also dabbled in selling insurance, worked as a teamster in Seattle, and retired from Foss Maritime.

He was especially active in the outdoor group The Mountaineers.  For 18 years he had leading acting roles in the mountaineers Kitsap county outdoor theater.  He was known for his skill on the dance floor, skiing, and hiking.  Royce was known as an excellent folk dancer and was president of the Skandia Folk Dance Society.  Royce and Rhea traveled extensively domestic and abroad to Europe, South America, and Asia. Royce was outgoing, social, and always had an upbeat, optimistic attitude.

In 1971 Royce married Rhea and continued to live in Seattle for 17 years, then purchased acreage on Camano Island.  Royce and Rhea spent weekends and vacations on their Camano Island property. For the next 16 years, they steadily improved the land by clearing fallen trees and underbrush.  Royce transformed a farm pond into a small lake.  They built a large home, garage, and barn, and when they retired in 1990 they moved onto their property. Royce commenced a life of volunteering; amongst other things he was commodore of the Camano Island Yacht Club,  a deputy sheriff for Island County, served as the first Chairman of the Board of the then newly formed Camano Animal Shelter Association, served as a member of the Juvenile Dispute Resolution Center, and was voted man of the year for Stanwood/Camano Island in 2006.  In 2001 Royce and Rhea sold their acreage and house to Island County as a Conservation Futures Fund Project which is now known as the Four Springs Lake Preserve.  Royce and Rhea stayed on Camano Island moving to a newly built home overlooking the sound and Whidbey Island.  Royce loved the water and never tired of looking out the large windows at the ever-changing view.

Royce is survived by his beloved wife of 48 years, Rhea Natoli of Camano island, his daughter, Connie Chase of Olympia and son Gregg Natoli of Machias.  He was much loved and will be sorely missed though not forgotten.