Roy was a star athlete at Panama High School in southeastern Illinois in the 1930s.  Panama was a three-year high school, so for his senior year, Roy attended and graduated from Hillsboro High School.

He went on to Carthage College, where he had a very successful career in basketball and track.

Romani was hired for the 1938-39 school year to teach and coach at Sorento High School.  During this year, he married his lovely wife Ada.  After one year, when his basketball team went 26-3, he moved to Divernon High School near Springfield, where he coached football and basketball.  His first football squad went undefeated, outscoring opponents 216-6.  He stayed at the school for four years with great success.

Romani came to Washington for the 1943-44 school year during turbulent times.  It was wartime, and many staff members were being called to war or leaving their positions because their spouses were being called.  The brand-new high school had just been christened the year before, and entering the 1943 school year, only one staff member in the entire school was returning for year two.  That was teacher/coach Golden Babcook, and he was a phone call away from being called to war.  Newly hired principal Lester Elam hired a new 10-person staff, including Romani, who taught history, math, and PE along with his coaching duties.

Roy's basketball teams achieved success; his second team (1944-1945, pictured below) set a school record with 24 wins.  He also coached baseball and was a football assistant. Beyond coaching, he also spent a great deal of time as a referee in the area.

After the 1949-50 school year, Romani relinquished most of his coaching duties while continuing to work as a basketball official; he was known as one of the best in the area.  He also took the helm of the fledgling golf program at WCHS.

At that time (1950), Roy became the school's first-ever driving instructor, taking classes at Bradley over the summer to become certified to teach the class.

Romani continued to teach at WCHS into the mid-1960s, until he tragically passed away at the young age of 49 on January 26, 1965.  A memorial fund was established in his name, and the Roy Romani award is presented every year to the student who excels in math and athletics.  WCHS hired Richard Smith upon Romani's passing to replace him.

Roy Romani came to WCHS during a time of transition and provided stability to an ever-changing teaching and coaching staff.  He became a ubiquitous presence around Washington and affected the lives of thousands.  Washington and its people are a better place now because of Roy Romani.