While he had told his dad of his desire to take music lessons the day before, Roach had also mentioned wanting to play the cornet – not a clarinet like the one sitting in front of him.

"The clarinet was considered to be a girl's instrument and the cornet was a boy's instrument," the younger Roach said."He didn't know the difference, but he did make it very clear to me that he paid $10 for that instrument and I was going to learn how to play it."

It was a mix-up that Roach later said he's glad his dad made. With a flourishing white beard now grown in over his once 11-year-old face, Delbert – or "Doc" as most Tombstone citizens know him – has created a name for himself with more than just the clarinet.

"It was kind of embarrassing to learn the clarinet, but I'm certainly glad that I did," he said. "The saxophone and clarinet are very close to the human voice, and therefore a very pleasant thing to listen to."

Finding inspiration in fellow sax musicians Al Gallodoro and Eddie Miller, Doc decided to expand his musical repertoire and become a jazz musician.

"That was the thing to do in those days," he said, adding that he's learned to play all jazz instruments."Flute, piccolo, bassoon, you name it. Some of those things I'm fairly accomplished at, and some I can't do very well."

After the Marysville, Calif. native met his wife Mary, the pair became "full-time RVers" and happened to traverse the main drag through a new Western town in 1981.

"Doc said, 'Honey, I don't think we've ever seen Tombstone'," Mary recalled.

As they arrived during Tombstone's then-bicentennial celebration, the town marshal helped establish a place for Doc and Mary to set up their RV amid a crowded Allen Street, even offering prime location for the two to sell crafts.

"We fell in love with this town," Mary said."That's the kind of town this is."

With a memorable first impression those 20 years ago, Doc and Mary finally parked the RV for good in Tombstone in 2007.

The time to pay back the kindness they received had arrived.

Doc purchased a 1.5-acre lot at 312 W. Allen St. where the Roach residence sits next to the cornerstone of his and Mary's brainchild -The Gift of Giving Thrift Store.

Comprised of seven modular units that once served as a school cafeteria, the thrift store is managed and owned by the Roaches with the help of a handful of regular volunteers who donate their time.

The thrift store, which accepts donations of just about anything that can be re-sold, anchors just one part of the larger, non-profit charity. The Gift of Giving also houses the Tombstone Academy for the Performing Arts.

Spearheaded by Doc, the academy sought to provide tutelage and exposure in the fine arts during a time when most cash-strapped Arizona schools are relegating them to the chopping block.

The thrift store has private rooms secluded away from the shopping section of the store where lessons are given and a larger space for performing is beginning to take shape.

Most of the instruments, including a drum set and several pianos, are either donated or loaned, Mary said.

"This piano is from the 1920s," she said, plunking a few keys from an upright piano tucked in the corner, its tune rolling up from the stained wooden hull.
"It's got a beautiful sound to it."

Doc points to the charity's overall goal of helping the Tombstone community for where The Gift of Giving's slogan draws from.

"What is donated in Tombstone, benefits Tombstone," he says.

The charity not only focuses on accepting donations and providing training in the arts, but also will provide for and assist destitute persons who come seeking help.

"We will give them leads for further help," Doc says of the 10 people on average the charity helps in needy situations in a given month.

"(We'll) get you supplied with clothing, meals from local restaurants until we can get you settled out and self-sufficient," he adds.

The cost of overhead for the building upkeep, a never-ending job according to the Roaches, and charity sometimes threatens the balance sheets, however.

Doc says the charity breaks even pretty well because, he says, they have no other choice.

"My wife is on the payroll, but she never gets paid. Neither do I, because there isn't enough money."

The seasoned sax maestro scoffs, however, when asked if the financial situation frustrates him.

"I don't find it frustrating," he said."There's so much good going on. People come in with the most beautiful things [to donate]. They've been unbelievably generous."

In the meantime, Mary works tirelessly alongside her volunteers accepting random piles here, assorted goods there, each getting a price sticker and place on the shelf in the thrift store.

"The people are so generous. They know they want to help," Mary comments as she sorts through another bin of donations.

"It's been a great life, and it's not over yet."