Roy Torcaso, Notary Public, R.I.P.

   A notary public myself, I have to give Roy my “stamp of approval”:

   “Roy R. Torcaso, 96, whose application to be a Maryland notary public led to a U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed his refusal to take a state oath requiring him to declare a belief in God, died June 9 at the Himalayan Elderly Care assisted living home in Silver Spring. He had complications of prostate cancer.

  “Mr. Torcaso, who said he was an atheist, was a bookkeeper by profession. He worked for a Bethesda construction company when his legal challenge started in 1959. He had been urged by his boss to become a notary public.

  “At the Montgomery County Circuit Court, he refused to swear to a state oath given to notaries public that made them profess the existence of God….[Rest of obituary]