Surgeon who died on Mount Royal ‘multitalented’
Friends describe Shreyas Roy as funny, supportive, outgoing and multi-talented
The man who died early Sunday morning after a fall on Mount Royal was a surgeon at Ste-Justine Hospital who is being remembered as “gregarious, outgoing, multitalented and brilliant.”
Shreyas Roy, 38, died after falling from a cliff during a hike on the mountain. Originally from Syracuse, N.Y., Roy was a fellow in pediatric surgery at the hospital for children, according to his Facebook page. A spokesperson said the hospital would not comment on the tragic situation.
Steven Alexander, who has known Roy since their days in college, described his many talents to the Montreal Gazette and called him “a true Renaissance man if I ever knew one.”
“We also acted in theatrical productions together, and he was also an accomplished musician and guitarist,” Alexander said.
Even though they hadn’t seen each other as often in recent years, Alexander said Roy always made time for friends.
“He always had a smile for old friends, a story to tell and a way of making you feel like no time had passed since you last spent time together,” Alexander said.
“He was one of a kind, and I know I, and many of my friends, will miss him greatly.”
Alexander said Roy helped him during his battle with renal diseases and his subsequent kidney transplant. “He gave me an epic speech about my strength, and how he knew what I was facing,” Alexander wrote in a Facebook post. “In a time where my future was uncertain, he was someone — a friend — who really understood much of what I was going through.”
Roy attended Manlius Pebble Hill School before studying chemistry at Le Moyne College in Syracuse. According to his Facebook page, he attended McGill University for medical school before returning to the U.S. to work at State University of New York Upstate Medical University. That’s where he and Adam Gold met about 10 years ago when Roy frequently visited Gold’s coffee shop near the Syracuse University campus and several hospitals.
“We would sit and talk about all sorts of things. He was a really funny guy. He always had friends with him, and everyone was always laughing and smiling around him. You pretty much couldn’t help but smile when you saw him,” Gold said, adding that his employees at the coffee shop are devastated.
“He was just so giving and learned and positive. Just a really special cat,” Gold said.
“Everyone who met him pretty much said the same thing: ‘You never met anyone like this guy.’ ”
Gold hopes the accident might lead to some changes on the mountain to prevent future tragedies.
He always had a smile for old friends, a story to tell and a way of making you feel like no time had passed since you last spent time together.