Charles Lafayette Roland
October 31, 1927 - July 13, 2013
San Jose, California
Charles L. Roland passed away quietly in his sleep 7-13-2013 at Good Samaritan hospital with his family by his side.
Chuck was born in Spring Grove, KY. and lived in the area for 10 years. He then moved to Griffin, IN. and lived there for one year. He then moved to Southern Illinois near the town of Bellmont and lived until 1945. He went into the Navy in June 1945 and returned to Mt. Carmel, IL. (where his parents had moved) in August, 1946. Chuck was preceded in death by his parents Houston and Ruby Roland of Mt. Carmel, IL. His wife, Maxine Skinner Roland from Mt. Carmel IL. A brother, Bernie L. Roland of Inglewood, CA. and brother David H. Roland of Fremont, Ca. He has two living sisters, Velda M. Jones and Carmen L. Brantley of Odessa, TX. Chuck attended 3 years of high school at Bellmont Illinois (a 3 year high school) and his 4th year of High School in Mt. Carmel, IL. Charles graduated in June 1945 and with a short time in the Navy he returned to Mt. Carmel and worked for the city as head lifeguard at the municipal pool, then for the DeKalb Agricultural Association, He left Mt. Carmel in December 1950 to attend school at Northrop Institute of Technology in Hawthorne, CA. from which he graduated in 1953 with a Diploma in Aeronautical Engineering Technology. A few year later in Sunnyvale, CA. he was instrumental in setting up a Northrop University extension school for the many Northrop technical graduates in the area to finish up for their B.S. degrees as Northrop University had become an accredited University. Chuck graduated in 1969 with his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering. In the meantime he was working on a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.S. in industrial engineering and was approximately 5 units each from completing those degrees before retirement. Chuck was 5x year Elks member, a long time member of the A.I.A.A., and served in many capacities for Northrop University after graduation. Chuck worked for Lockheed Missile and Space Company for 40 years. He was an early employee of the new division (somewhere in the 30's number) and was hired in February 1954. He came to Sunnyvale in August 1956 when Lockheed Missile and Space Co. relocated to Sunnyvale. He lived in Santa Clara for 11 years and then to San Jose until the present. He worked on the Polaris Missile when the company relocated to Sunnyvale, Ca. Charles then worked in the NASA division on original designers on the Agena program. The Agena was the secondary payload booster for nearly 400 flights. He then went to work with the Air Force side of the house and worked on many of the government classified programs. Chuck was a devoted family man and his secondary interests were schooling, golf and the study of the physical sciences. He was a firm believer in the Christian principles. Chuck has 3 children. Deborah Martin, Ginger Stewart (Gary) and Charles C. He has numerous grandchildren. He has several great grandchildren. Viewing will be from 4-8:00 P.M on July 21, 2013. Services will be held on July 22, 2013 at 2 PM at the Chapel of Roses, Oak Hill Funeral Home in San Jose, CA. In lieu of flowers a contribution of your choice to would be appreciated.
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Published in San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times on July 18, 2013
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