Chavez Center desk clerk was ‘nicest person ever’
Memorial scheduled for Friday expected to draw huge crowd in gym
A large jar overflowing with colorful notes written in memory of James Roybal sits on the front desk of the Genoveva Chavez Community Center.
Although hundreds of Chavez Center members had only brief exchanges with Roybal — a front-desk clerk there for 15 years — their memories of a man many called “the nicest person ever” are evidence that seemingly ordinary people are those who sometimes make an extraordinary impact.
Roybal, 52, died Sept. 11 following a massive heart attack.
“James always had a nice word, a warm greeting. He was quick to laugh,” one note says. “I never saw so much as a glint of anger or frustration on his face. If more people were like James, the world would be a much better place.”
A Friday memorial service for Roybal was set to take place in the Chavez Center’s community room, but organizers said the space is too small to hold the large number of people who want to honor and remember him. Now, the service will be held in the center’s gym, expanding over three basketball courts.
A dedicated Seattle Seahawks fan, Roybal was watching the Jets rout the Lions on Monday Night Football with lifelong friend Richard “Dickie” Martinez when the heart attack began, said Roybal’s ex-wife, Monica Alvarez.
“He was just the kindest person you’ve ever met,” Alvarez said.
Dirk Wassaner, a Chavez Center member for at least a decade, said he,
like so many others, had formed a bond with Roybal.
“The first thing I looked forward to was seeing him, having him swipe me in,” Wassaner said. “He always had a smile for everyone.”
Many of the notes memorializing Roybal touched on his kindness. Cards created by children depicted hearts, sad faces and bubble letters saying “Sorry.”
“James was always a voice of incredible hospitality and honesty,” one note said.
“May you fly with the angels, because you certainly are one,” said another.
Roybal was born June 20, 1966, in Las Cruces and went to school in Santa Fe. He graduated from St. Michael’s High School in 1984.
Alvarez said she met Roybal at the age of 15 when he took her ice cream order at Baskin-Robbins. Throughout their teenage years, she said, they went to high school dances together, including prom. And in 1994, Roybal proposed to her atop the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.
They were married in 1996 and remained close friends after their divorce in 2003, Alvarez said.
“We’ve known each other forever,” she said through tears, recalling Roybal singing Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” at the altar during their wedding — which drew at least 800 guests. A video of that moment will play at the memorial, “so we can hear his voice,” Alvarez said.
Roybal gave everyone he loved a nickname, she said. He enjoyed spending time at a family cabin in the Pecos Wilderness, gardening and hosting barbecues.
“He’d tell you to come over at 7, and you wouldn’t eat till 10,” she said with a laugh. “He wanted everything to be perfect. … He loved just making people feel welcomed.”
“His door was always open,” said Roybal’s younger brother, Andrew Roybal. “He’s a people’s person. He always had a smile on his face, welcoming people. He likes to help people out.”
This desire to build community also was evident to co-workers.
“He went above and beyond to make our customers happy,” said Sheila Chavez, the Chavez Center’s administrative supervisor, who worked with James Roybal throughout his time there.
Every day, she said, Roybal, a classmate of hers at St. Michael’s High, would engage in sports banter with some of the men and exchange gardening tips with older women. In the days since his death, she said, his absence has had a profound effect on everyone.
“If you could only see these people coming in, how devastated they are. … We’ve had so many people just have breakdowns, to the point of sobbing uncontrollably,” Chavez said.
“He touched lives,” she said. “He wasn’t just swiping cards or taking your $7.”
Sarah Roybal, one of his three children, wrote on her Facebook page that she used to ask her dad why he stayed at the Chavez Center for so long.
“He always mentioned the outpouring love and happiness the people expressed to him there,” she wrote.
In an interview, she said, “The people were really the thing that kept him there.”
A rosary for James Roybal will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Anne Catholic Church, with a funeral Mass at the church scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. Burial will follow at Rosario Cemetery.
A celebration of Roybal’s life will be held in the Chavez Center gym following the burial service.