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When Leroy "Sassy" Archibald stepped onto a basketball court as a referee, players knew they were in the presence of someone special. For over five decades, Leroy officiated countless games across Rhode Island, a familiar and respected figure to generations of young athletes.  

Growing up in Fox Point, Leroy learned very early the value of community support. "He came from a place where everyone looked out for one another, where families helped their neighbors," his daughter, Roxanne, explains. "He witnessed generosity from a young age."

After playing basketball at Hope High School and Fox Point Recreational Center, Leroy went on to build a multifaceted career that included over 50 years as a real estate broker and worked for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. But it was his half-century as a basketball referee that seemed to define him.

His dedication to youth sports and the young people who play them earned him multiple honors, including induction into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Athletic Hall of Fame, North Providence Sports Hall of Fame, IAABO Board 84 Hall of Fame, and the Fox Point Boys Club Hall of Fame.

Roxanne also remembers her father as someone who managed to turn his personal challenges into opportunities to help others. "When my dad was going through the process necessary to become a referee, it took many attempts because he had no one helping him through the process,” Roxanne shares. “Once he became certified, he would always offer to mentor other candidates who were applying to referee by helping them along with the process.”

At home, Leroy was the loving husband of his wife MaryAnn for nearly 60 years. They first met when MaryAnn was just 15 at the John Hope Settlement House. Together, they raised their two daughters who also dedicated their professional lives to educating young people: Roxanne Archibald, an administrator for Providence Public Schools committed to connecting students with scholarships, and Dr. Mary Archibald, a long-time social worker for Providence Public Schools, now a professor of social work at Rhode Island College.

When Leroy passed away in 2023, his family was inspired to honor his extraordinary legacy and chose the Rhode Island Foundation to steward the Leroy Archibald Basketball Memorial Scholarship Fund, supporting post-secondary education for students who played basketball during high school.

"Everywhere we went, kids and their parents would remember my dad as a referee; we always got stopped by somebody who knew him," Roxanne recalls. "He touched the lives of a lot of kids."