Louis E. Roux
...bicyclist in Tewksbury Center; 81
TEWKSBURY - Louis E. Roux, age 81, known to many as "Uncle Louie," died Thursday evening, August 27, at the Sunbridge-Glenwwood Nursing Center in Lowell following a year long period of declining health.
He was born in Tewksbury on December 14, 1927, a special son of the late Phaida "Joe" and Maria (LeMay) Roux. Born with a palsy condition in his back and legs, he underwent a cost-free operation at the Shriners Hospital in Springfield which enabled him to walk for most of his life although assisted by a cane. He became a familiar sight in Tewksbury Center as he used a bicycle for most of his life to travel. He was such a prolific pedaler, he wore his "Schwinn" bicycles out every two years. He was a fixture at the former Hillson's Bicycle Shop in Tewksbury Center, and became an expert at aligning spoke bicycle wheels, where his "pay" was companionship, comradery and an occasional beer. He also made a daily pilgrimage to the former Snack Shack restaurant on Main Street. He lived into adulthood with his mother, enjoyed sixteen of his middle years with his sister Gloria's family, and for the past twenty six years with his brother Victor's family. He had traded his bicycle for a wheelchair for the last two decades of his life and until last year could be found smiling and waiving at anyone and everyone who passed through the center of town.
He is survived by his brothers and sister-in-law, Victor and Anne (Dillon) Roux, with whom he resided, and Eugene L. Roux; his sisters and brother-in-law, Gloria A. Deputat and her husband Walter, and Elaine Stephens all of Tewksbury Center, and many nieces and nephews.
His Funeral Mass was celebrated Tuesday, Sept 1, in St. William's Church, Tewksbury. Burial followed at Tewksbury Cemetery. Memorials to the Shriners Hospital for Children, 516 Carew St., Springfield, MA 01104-2396(www.shrinershq.org) will be appreciated.