Pressler, Roy James. Peacefully, age 89, at St. Petersburg, Fla, on February 8, 2017. Born June 7, 1927 in Lakewood, Ohio, he was the youngest of four sons of Edward C. and May (Whitney) Pressler. He attended Lakewood public schools and Culver Military Academy. He was a World War II veteran, joining the U.S. Navy after his high school graduation in 1945 and serving aboard USS Taconic.

After demobilization, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. While at UPenn, he pledged to Delta Kappa Epsilon. He graduated from the Wharton School of Business in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in economics. In the same year he married "Mickey" (Ethel May) McDowell of Philadelphia, holder of an M.S. from the UPenn College of Education, and returned to Cleveland.

He began his business career in Cleveland with the Wm. Edwards Co., a wholesale grocery firm. In 1954, he was hired by the Henger-Fairfield Co. as their Canton, Ohio electrical manufacturer's representative. While there, he was instrumental in the first successful campaign to pass a school levy in Canton, something he remembered with a great deal of pride. In 1961 he returned to the Cleveland area and began his own firm, Pressler-Weissinger, Inc., which eventually served the entire state of Ohio. He and Mickey lived in Rocky River, Ohio, until their retirement in 1990, when they became winter residents of The Sea Towers, St. Petersburg, Fla. They became full-time Floridians in 2008.

An avid sailor and racer, Roy was a mainstay of the Ensign Associations at Vermilion Harbor and Edgewater Yacht Club, Cleveland. He loved classical music, and for many years held season tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra. He enjoyed travel, within the U.S. and in Europe; his favorite city was Vienna. An Episcopalian, he served as a vestry member of Trinity Cathedral (Cleveland) and St. Anne of Grace (Seminole, Fla.)

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mickey, his daughters Charlotte (Sebring, Fla.), Carol (Lakewood, Ohio,) Sally Hauser (Dale, Ranchos de Taos, N.M), grandsons Alexander and Devin Lavrisha, and granddaughters Erika Hauser (Dave Piechota) and Catherine Hauser. He was predeceased by his parents, and his brothers Milton, Edward, and Charles.

A memorial service will be held at St. Anne of Grace Episcopal Church, Seminole, Fla. on March 25th, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. Private interment at Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, will follow. Donations in lieu of flowers to St. Anne of Grace, Trinity Cathedral, the University of Pennsylvania, or the charity of choice.