death of Jean Roy, nicknamed the “king of Fontainebleau”

“If by your surname, you are the king, by your pranks, you are the emperor…” This sentence, addressed by one of his friends, seems to be able to sum up the life of Jean Roya personality from Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne) with a thousand and one facets, who died on Thursday January 2, following an illness, at the Nelly Kopp residence in Fontainebleau. He was 87 years old.

Death of Jean Roy, emblematic figure of

Born in the imperial city in 1937, this son of six children left an indelible mark and marked everyone who knew him. His parents, Georges Roy et Marie-Louise Balu settled in the town in 1917.

His father, injured during the Great War, would be the first dentist in a long line from Bellifontaine. His mother, from a family of artists, died suddenly in 1944, traumatized by the torture inflicted by the Germans, making Jean Roy and his brothers and sisters Pupilles de la nation.

“As a teenager, Jean often took long walks in the forest as an excuse to actually go dancing in Parisian bistros,” confides Rémy Roy, his nephew and godson and himself a dental surgeon in Fontainebleau. His whole life was like that: he never stopped dancing and, above all, laughing. »

His professional life has been eclectic: he has notably worked under study Pajot-Osenat. “Jean was a flamboyant personality from Fontainebleau,” confirms auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat, who worked with him, offering him a place as crier in the auction room. I will never forget his culture, his fantasy, but also his rebellious side, which made him an emblematic figure who left his mark on all the places he passed through…”

A time as a real estate agent – ​​“he always put his many contacts in touch”, emphasizes his nephew – he was also an antiques dealer between Paris and Fontainebleau, but also a gallery owner, press officer and commissioner of the biennial antiques show.

Very interested in decoration, arts and letters, this “cultured party animal” left the Paris region for the Lot for a while, staying at the Château de Marsa (Lot). In a book on the Quercy region, Catherine Didon describes him as “a tightrope walker of the ephemeral: as light as a butterfly, he was full of ideas, each more extravagant than the last. »

“Generous Cicada”

In Fontainebleau, his favorite places were Les Glaces and the Grand Café… not far from rue de France where he lived. “At the ice cream parlor, he even climbed onto the tables and cried ‘wolf’ to the delight of the audience,” Rémy Roy breathes. Jean was friends with the common people as well as with the aristocracy and all of Paris. He was a generous cicada, a folkloric personality who enjoyed life. »

Affected by the illness since the 2000s, he nevertheless continued to “keep his streets”, always “courageous in the illness”, whose predictions he defied for many years.

His funeral will be celebrated on Wednesday January 15 at 10 a.m. at the Saint-Louis church in Fontainebleau. He will then be buried in the Thomery cemetery. If Jean Roy is dead, Fontainebleau is certainly not about to forget him.

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