Roy Akira Takei was born on February 6, 1929, the only child of Yoshikata and Tomoko (Yufune) Takei, in Venice, California.

The family moved back to Japan before the start of the Second World War. His father passed away during leg amputation surgery when Roy was 11 years old. At age 15, he attempted to join the Kamikaze, but was refused because he was the sole supporter for his mother. He then enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Navy, but the war ended before he was shipped out.

After the War, in 1947 or 1948, he left his mother in Japan and boarded an ocean liner to come back to the USA. On that voyage, he first met Takako Ann Takei, who would eventually become his wife. Roy enlisted in the US Army during the Korean War. In 1951 his mother passed away in Japan but he was unable to attend her funeral because of his military service. Roy and Takako were married in Los Angeles on June 6, 1953. Because of his fluency in Japanese, Roy was assigned to the National Security Agency (NSA). The newlyweds moved into the basement unit of a brownstone apartment building in Washington DC, while Roy was stationed with the NSA in Arlington, Virginia.

In 1954, Roy's military service completed, and the couple moved back to Los Angeles. Roy attended the University of Southern California on the G.I. Bill and Ann's earnings from working at an insurance company in Downtown LA. He graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from USC.

In 1960, the couple moved to Pasadena, California, and they had two sons: Robert, born in May 1961, and Thomas, born in September 1962. The family has remained in Pasadena to the present day. Following graduation from USC, Roy obtained his State architect's license and general contractor's license, and in 1967 he opened his own design-build firm – Takei Construction – which remained in business until he retired in 2013.

Some notable projects designed and/or built by Takei Construction are: The 3 original Benihana Japanese Steakhouses in Southern California; the Kings Hawaiian Bread factory and Hawaiian Host chocolate factory, both in Gardena, CA; the San Gabriel Valley Free Methodist Church in San Gabriel, CA; Honda Plaza and the Bunmeido Building in Little Tokyo; remodel work on Koyasan Buddhist Temple and the Wisteria Chapel and Columbarium addition for Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple – both in Little Tokyo; and countless other commercial and institutional buildings of all types and sizes, as well as many custom residential homes and remodels in the greater Los Angeles area.

Away from the office, Roy was active in the Crown City Optimist Club in the 1970's, serving as president for a time, and he and Ann loved their annual vacations to the island of Kaua'i, where they stayed in their favorite room at the Grand Hyatt in Koloa. They also took regular weekend trips to San Luis Obispo and San Diego. The highlight of their travels was a 2007 trip to Japan, when they took the entire family to see historic cultural sites in Nikko, Takayama, Koyasan, Nara and Kyoto.

Roy Akira Takei lived a very full and rewarding life, and accomplished a great deal both in business and in his personal life. He will be greatly missed by Ann, his wife of 67 years, his sons Robert and Thomas, and Thomas' wife, Nina.