“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”
~Roy Disney

Roy Disney, nephew of Walt Disney and son of Roy O. and Edna Disney, died on December 16 of this year at the age of 79 years. He succumbed to stomach cancer at Hoag Memorial in Newport Beach, California, after being diagnosed with the disease approximately a year prior.

Disney was an executive at the Disney company until 1977. He resigned because he was dissatisfied with the direction of the company. He kept his seat on the board of directors and remained a member of the Disney company board of director for many years. He cared passionately for the Disney brand and strived to stay true to his uncle and father's original ideals when they founded the company, but his tenure with the company was tumultuous at times.

Disney was passionate about bringing the animated film back to the Disney studios. After great success in the early years with movies like "Snow White," "Bambi," and "Alice in Wonderland," Disney thought the company should put more focus on the animated feature film. During the 1990s, the company enjoyed an animated film renaissance with films like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.

At first, the partnership between Disney and Disney company head Michael Eisner was a match made in heaven and they shared similar visions. After a time, however, Disney became disenchanted and resigned from the board in 2003. A campaign was then designed to "save Disney" and oust Eisner. Eisner eventually resigned from his post a year before his contract expired. Eisner eventually became Disney's second largest shareholder, with Disney holding the third largest amount of shared. Bob Iger replaced Eisner, performed some serious damage control, and the parties involved seemed to have called an informal truce.

He is survived by his second wife, Leslie DeMeuse, and four children from his first marriage of 52 years to Patricia Disney.

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