Roy Clark Broughton was born on June 28, 1934 in his paternal grandparent's Palestine, Texas home. He is the eldest son of Walter LaRoy & Olabel Clark-Broughton.

As just about any child in the LoneStar State, Roy would master horseback riding at a young age, but he never quite became a full-fledged cowboy-hat-wearing Texan, preferring baseball caps instead. Roy attended Elkhart School where in addition to his studies, he was very active in sports. He played on his high school football team and was the "left-handed" star pitcher for his high school baseball team. He was All-State, lettering in both baseball and football. Roy graduated 3rd in his class in 1952. After graduation, his interest in sports continued with bowling, hunting, archery and even a short stint as a dragcar racer. After school, Roy went to work at Cross Mobil Service station (1952-54) until Uncle Sam called. He enlisted in the United States Army where he serviced and drove A-1 tanks. For a short time, Roy was stationed in Korea during the end of Korean Conflict.

After turning in his green uniform for civilian attire, Roy studied Radio/TV/Electronics at the Commercial Trade Institute and went to work at the Temco Aircraft plant in Dallas (1956-59). During this same period, he met and married a woman by the name of Ann Wheeler. In 1959, Roy and his wife moved to Shreveport, Louisiana where he went to work as a maintenance man for Southgate Bowling Lanes in Shreveport, LA (1959-66). The couple had a son, Charles LaRoy Broughton, on Dec. 4 1960, but the marriage dissolved and following the divorce, Ann returned to Texas with her son. In 1965, Roy studied advanced electronics at the RCA Institute while still working at the bowling alley.

While at Southgate Lanes, Roy saw a beautiful blue-eyed member of a bowling league and determined to meet her. So one day while the woman was practicing alone, Roy worked it out so that he was manning the pins on her lane. After each bowl, Roy would rearrange the pins in strange orders often leaving her with splits or no pins at all. Disgruntled, she marched to the back of the lane, where Roy flashed a smile and a request for their first date. Carolyn Prothro accepted. On September 9, 1967, in Haughton, LA, she became his wife, and Roy again became a family man. (Carolyn had three children from a previous marriage: Sheila, Kyle & Glenn Bagley.)

Carolyn Prothro Broughton

In 1966, Roy switched jobs and went to work for Automatic Vending Service in Bossier City where he repaired vending & pinball machines, etc. - a job his children came to enjoy since they were often elected to try out the mechanical horses, vehicles, merry-go-rounds and pinball machines to see if they worked. Roy continued to work for Automative Vending (even after new ownership changed the name to Vickrey Vending Service) until 1989 when the company was bought out by Pickett Industries in Shreveport, LA. Roy now works for Pickett and has his own side-line business repairing vending machines for places like Walmart, Brookshires, and KMart in the tri-state area.

On July 10, 1969, Carolyn gave birth to a baby girl whom they named after a singer (Brandi Perry) and a famous racecar driver (Cale Yarborough). Brandi Cayle Broughton was the first of two daughters born to the couple. About a year after her birth, Roy moved his family to Blanchard Louisiana where he added farming to his duties. On a 6-acre ranchette, the family raised vegetables (including some of the largest watermelons ever!), cattle, horses and chickens. Then, on November 19, 1971, the baby of the family was born. At birth, Lisa Renee' Broughton was extremely tiny and suffered from a clogged esophagus which led to surgery at the tender age of 2-weeks. Despite her heart-renching start at life, Lisa rallied and became one of the feistiest members of the Broughton clan.

Through the years, Roy would own several vehicles following his first 1950 Ford, but the fuel shortage of the 1970's would introduce him to a life of 2-wheelers. He has since owned 10 motorcycles (all of them Hondas) on which he's toured the United States. He and his family went to numerous motorcycle rallies and were members of White Eagles motorcycle club, in which Roy even served as president for a term. His last 2-wheeler was a golden 1988 Honda Goldwing which he called "Trigger" and even after ten years said it "still rides as good as new."

In 1987, Roy followed in the footsteps of some of his ancestors when he joined the Masons (Joppa Lodge #362) in Shreveport, LA. He was raised to Master Mason the same year.