Dennis Roach was born on 9 Jan 1952 in Mattapan, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA of Barbadian immigrant ancestry. June 22nd, 2023 he passed away in Boston due to a sudden massive stroke with his cousins Gerard and Iris by his side. Growing up in Mattapan, Dennis was educated in the public schools and attended Curry College. After 23 years of working as an Implementation Team Member for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Trial Court he had just recently retired and looked forward to an indepth journey of his own talents. Throughout his life Dennis had a passion and a talent for theatre and music and you'd find him
engaged as a player of various theatre and chorale groups performing throughout
New England.
Acting with The Quincy Center Dinner Theater in the 1990's, he was a
regular performer in their annual Christmas show and was ready to begin
rehearsals for the 2023 show. In 2002 he auditioned for The Hot Spot Cabaret
group and was signed right up, and he had been a fan favorite ever since. He was
not only loved for his beautiful singing voice, but he also could be quite the funny man. Probably his most iconic songs were Johnny Mathis's "Misty," and Bread's "If." Not only did Dennis sing the songs of other writers, but he himself put to pen and instrument many a song. Some of his favorite roles included The Boys Next Door, Driving Miss Daisy, Master Harold and the Boys, To Kill a Mocking Bird and City of Angels. Other performances included Leiber and Stoler's Smokey Joe's Café and Fats Waller's Ain't Mis Behavin' as well as Frances Burnett's The Secret Garden. He was a longtime member of Concord Player Productions also. Dennis was a pit singer in its 2011 production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Always eager to explore new areas of theatre and performing arts Dennis was delighted to be included as one of the Pit Singers he preferred to call "Orchestral Vocal Support." Dennis was also a community activist working diligently to create a more safe and comfortable area for his neighborhood of over 5 decades. He was a true gentleman and a pleasure to work with and will be sorely and sadly missed by his fans, his fellow theatre community members, his Trial Court colleagues and his relatives and neighbors. Dennis was the son of Japheth Nathaniel Franklin Roach, born on 19 Oct 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts, died on 25 Sep 2001 in Taunton, MA; and Hyacinth A. Hurley Roach. born on 16 May 1915, died on 13 Feb 1990 in Bourne, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Dennis's sister, Boston teacher Hyacinth J. Roach, was born in Aug 1941, and died Jan. 31, 2017. He is survived by his cousins on both his mother and father's sides: Lesley Hurley of New Jersey, Millard L. Hurley of Paris (France), Linda Hurley Ishem of Tacoma in Washington, Gerard Hurley and wife Iris DuPont-Hurley of Dorchester, Massachusett; Charles Wright and wife Lovelle Wright of Orlando, Florida; John Wright and wife Serena Wright of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dr. Boyd Wright and wife Brenda Lauderbach of Charleston, South Carolina; and Judi Moore-Lotta and husband Joe Latta of Silver Springs, Maryland. "In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Appalachian Mountain Club." Arrangements for a memorial celebration are pending.