Jim Roque remembered for fostering relationships, helping the community

Once you were in Jim Roque’s orbit, you were in for life.

The vice president and client adviser for SunTrust Private Wealth Management was known for bringing people together — made possible because of myriad local organizations with which he was he was involved.

Roque died Sept. 27. He was 63.

Lee Duffey said he met Roque at a community event, where Roque met most of the people in his expansive social circle. It was immediately apparent, Duffey added, that the larger-than-life character with a radiant smile and infectious laugh found great joy in fostering new relationships.

“Six degrees of Kevin Bacon can only be replaced with the six degrees of Jim Roque,” says Duffey. “(There are) so many people from different areas of this community who’d never have met if it weren’t for Jim … Jim’s legacy is the tremendous foundation of relationships and positive momentum that he created.”

The Cranston, R.I., native served on various nonprofit boards for organizations including Asolo Repertory Theater, Ringling College Library Association, Save our Seabirds, South Florida Museum and Tidewell Hospice. He was also an active member of the Bird Key Yacht Club and Sarasota Tiger Bay Club.

Lorrie Liang met Roque and his wife, Carla Malachowski, in 2016 at the RCLA Platinum Dinner. The couple quickly became close with Liang and her husband, who were new to Sarasota. Roque promised to help the Liangs fall in love with their new city and its inhabitants.

After meetings they’d attend together, Roque often sent Liang an encouraging email: “You’re simply remarkable,” it read.

“He was like my personal cheerleader,” she says. “But he believed in everybody.”

His love for helping people was evident in how he did business. Duffey says Roque frequently drove his elderly clients to the doctor’s office, nail salon or wherever they needed to go.

“His philosophy, which led to his success in his industry, was that ‘I don’t get to care for your money if I don’t get to care for you,’” Liang says.

Malachowski says one of her husband’s other great passions was travel, and his favorite places were Antarctica and the eastern and southern regions of Africa. During their nearly 30-year marriage, they visited six continents.

His wife said she wants people to remember Roque for his genuine dedication to Sarasota and how much joy the community brought him.

“Jim was probably one of the best of any of us, or the best any of us could be,” Duffey says. “There’s a hole in this city, and I don’t know if it will ever be completely filled in his absence.”

Roque is survived by his wife, Carla Malachowski; his parents, Warren and Elizabeth Roque; brothers W. Edward Roque, Paul Roque and Timothy Roque; uncle the Rev. Francis X. Roque and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. Oct. 6 at St. Martha Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests a donation in Roque’s name be made to any of his favorite charities.