
Roy was born October 12, 1933, in Hankinson, ND, to Reuben and Martha (Stanhope) Engelking. They moved to Fargo, ND, when he was a young child. He graduated from high school in Fargo in 1951. On August 7, 1951, he was united in marriage to LaVonne "Bonnie" Ann Miller and resided in Fargo until 1961, when they moved to Moorhead where they would spend 61 years together. Roy held many jobs as a young man, including working at the Red Owl Bakery, Miller's Sheet Metal and Laney's.