Planning Commissioner passes away

It saddened me greatly to hear of Roy Saari’s passing on Dec. 30. The cause of death was congestive heart failure. He was 63.
Saari served on Mammoth’s Planning Commission since 1993. He and his wife Sheryl both worked as local realtors.
In his youth, Saari was a world-class swimmer and won two medals at the 1964 Tokyo games, a gold in the freestyle relay, and a silver in the individual medley.
A native of El Segundo, he won a total of 33 national swimming titles during his career and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1976.
A celebration of Roy’s life will be held Sunday, Jan. 11 at 11 a.m. in the Mountainside Conference Center at Main Lodge.
As a planning commissioner, Saari possessed a rare blend of intelligence and character that will be sorely missed.
What was predictable about Roy during his 16 years of public service was the soundness and wisdom of his decision-making. What was unpredictable was how he would actually vote.
In other words, he was not a prisoner of his politics, nor was he a pushover to peer pressure. Rather, he was the ballast of the Commission. A voice of reason. As I heard again and again from friends and colleagues in the wake of his death, “Roy was one of the good ones.” A fitting description. Concise and accurate.
We didn’t have a lot of phone conversations for the purpose of rehashing or deconstructing planning commission issues. But when we did, Roy was 1.) Always quick to shoulder responsibility if there was responsibility to shoulder, and 2.) Protective of his fellow commissioners, regardless of the degree of his personal affinity for them.
But the biggest clue to Roy Saari’s character lies within the context of his own family. When I moved to Mammoth, the first person I ever worked for was Roy’s daughter, Joani Lynch, who is just a sweetheart. The kind of person you hope your child grows up to be.
As for his wife Sheryl, theirs was a lifelong love affair that began in college. A testament to his love and faith and loyalty.
Roy was one of the good ones.
Donations to the Roy Saari Memorial Fund can be made in his name to the US Olympic Committee, 19600 Fairchild Rd. Suite 270, Irvine, CA 92612