Roy Douglas Sikes III

Roy Douglas Sikes III passed away on September 1, 2026, at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center following a brief health crisis. He was surrounded by his loving wife and family. Known as Roy to his friends and as Douglas or Doug to his family, he was born in early 1941 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

His wife, Joanna (“Joanie”), was the apple of his eye. He also very much loved his children Beth, Roy, and Jimmy; his grandchildren, Jessica and Ryan, to whom he was known as “Pampaw”; and all of his extended family.

In his younger days, Roy was an avid fisherman, hunter, and reader. He loved the Dallas Cowboys and the Fightin’ Texas Aggies. He attended Texas A&M in 1959, where he was a member of the prestigious Fish Drill Team, and he was very proud that his son and granddaughter later graduated from A&M.

Roy spent most of his professional career as a structural engineer at the Jefferson Street plant in west Dallas that, over the years, operated under the LTV, Vought, Carlyle, and Northrop Grumman names. Among other projects, he worked on the Space Shuttle Leading Edge program, the B-2 Spirit outer wing, and the C-17 Globemaster III.

In 1993, Roy and his family moved from Grand Prairie to Midlothian to live out their dream of a more rural life.

After retiring in 1999, Roy took up golf. He especially loved golfing with his younger brother Rick and his dear friend and Sunday School teacher, Lloyd Williams.

In everyday life and at church, Roy was a character. He loved to quote the many and varied humorous sayings he had collected throughout his life.

In the last decade of his life, Roy faced a series of significant health challenges, including a triple bypass in 2021 and a laminectomy in 2024 intended to restore his mobility, but which brought only brief and limited improvement. Through all of these challenges, Roy never lost his sense of humor.

Roy is survived by his wife, Joanna Sikes; his daughter, Bethany Lea (“Beth”) Payne and husband Tony Fontenot; his son, Roy Douglas Sikes IV and wife Belinda; his brother, Rick Dennis Sikes and wife Pat; his grandchildren, Jessica Wimmer and husband Luke, and Ryan Payne; his step-grandchildren, Alexis (“Lexi”) Wagner, Nicole Bobo, Kelly Bobo, and Anthony Fontenot; his step-great-grandchildren, Eden Wagner and Warren Wagner; and other extended family members and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roy Douglas Sikes Jr. and Velma Sikes, and his son, James Jason (“Jimmy”) Sikes, whose wife, Cathryn, survives him.

Visitation will be held at Midlothian Funeral Home, 200 East Avenue East in Midlothian, Texas, on Friday, September 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., followed by a celebration of life at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Midlothian Cemetery.