This week a dear friend of mine passed, a North Village legend, my kid's great grandfather, Kenneth Leroy DeGraff, better known as Papa Roy.

Papa Roy was one of the founders of North Village back in 1957. Back then he and others had a vision to form a neighbourhood club primarily to help keep the kids off of the streets. The pursuance of this vision formed the North Village Community Club.

Papa Roy as I will address him throughout this column, was the very first North Village football coach. He had the distinction of coaching Village to their first victory, in their very first game.

Many of you will probably know his son, Eugene DeGraff, who was also an avid footballer and striker. While his career came to an abrupt end he was often seen behind the goal of the opposing team cheering on North Village.

Papa Roy was not only a football lover, he was also a cricket lover as he loved and followed West Indies cricket.

With his family being from St.Kitt's and Nevis he was a strong supporter. I sit here and smile when I think of the many debates we had concerning who the better team were, West Indies or England. He often referred to my team (England) as a bunch of jokers.

There was so much more to Papa Roy, though, as he was also an entrepreneur. He managed and operated the Oleander Café formerly on Court Street and was well known to the public for his famous beef pies which many of us still enjoy today.

He took pride in everything that he did, and there was nothing more special to him than his family.

This was a man of integrity with strong family values. His family meant everything to him and he made it his duty to instill good morals and values into each and every one of them.

I have been fortunate to know Papa Roy for the last 17 years and there has been numerous times when he would sit and tell me stories of how football used to be and how great North Village was and still are.

He would often joke with me saying, "You St.George's people don't know nothing about football, you all are cricketers, leave the football for North Village".

If you can recall just three weeks' ago I made a prediction that St.George's would beat North Village in a league match. As I was riding into my yard, which is adjacent to his, he stopped me and said, "Boy, Have you gone foolish, I read your prediction in the paper, that is crazy!"

How I am going to miss the relationship that we had. My response was, "Now Kenneth . . . " as I often called him during our debates, as no one ever called him Kenneth.

The love of football never left him and I would often see him watching as my youngest son, Jonte', and I would kick football in the yard. His passion would often take over and quite often he stopped us to give Jonte' some advice.

Papa Roy would often say, "Keep your head over the ball when you shoot, or practise kicking with both feet.", very valuable tips for any young player.

His love of football didn't stop there as he was also a big fan of English football. Week in and week out he would study the pools and often play them, winning from time to time.

The North Village we see today is a reflection of Papa Roy's passion and love for the sport and the club.

Just last week Village played Devonshire Cougars in the Dudley Eve finals at Wellington Oval. As I watched the first half I was bored. The standard of football was low and I think the conditions had a major part to play.

I decided to leave as the second half started and ended up missing what many have described as the best final ever. Village went behind four times only to show character and come from behind each time. Village went on to win what many have said was the best final they have ever seen.

However, sadly after the game, Papa Roy took a turn for the worse.

Ralph Bean Jr (Papa Roy's grandson) immediately went to the hospital. Once at the hospital he sat by Papa Roy's bedside and said, "Papa Roy we won the finals today and this victory was for you".

Papa Roy died the next morning at 3.30. What a way to close a chapter in someone's life.

In closing, Papa Roy will be remembered by all for his contributions to North Village and his legacy will go on for years and years.

However, I think he would want me to say that we must not forget the reason he started North Village in the first place, which was to keep the youngsters off the streets. In the times that we are living in right now we need more male figures like Papa Roy to make positive impacts on our young men.

R.I.P. Kenneth.