John Rowland

1925 - 2018

John Robert Rowland
John Robert Rowland, "Bob", of Weston, Connecticut, born on December 12, 1925 in Paoli, Pennsylvania to the late Jeannette and John Rowland, passed away at age 92 on October 24,2018 at Norwalk Hospital.
Bob was active in scouting as a child and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout before graduating from Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, NY. Bob went on to study at Yale University and graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, Bob worked at the Worthington Pump and Machinery company until he was called to serve in the U.S. Navy in 1951. Bob served during the Korean War as a lieutenant on the submarine, The Flying Fish. Upon discharge from the Navy in 1954, Bob took a job with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals where he worked in various engineering positions until his retirement in 1990 as the Director of Environmental Engineering.
Bob is survived by his devoted wife of 68 years, Barbara Jacobs Rowland as well as his three children: Leslie Rowland Jacques married to William Jacques of Wayland, MA, Elizabeth Rowland Gagne married to Paul Gagne of Darien, CT and David John Rowland of NY, NY. He is also survived by his six grand-children - John Jacques, Tom Jacques, Chloe Jacques, Renee Gagne, Andrew Gagne, Nicole Gagne and one great-grandchild -Finn Jacques. In addition, he is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Cursley.
John was a kind man of deep faith and spent countless hours volunteering in various capacities for the church. This included serving two terms as Senior Warden at St. James Episcopal Church in New London, CT and then after moving to Weston, CT also served as Senior Warden at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. He was an active member of the Weston Kiwanis club where he was their chief photographer for many years. He was also a literacy volunteer at the Norwalk Library where he helped to teach native Spanish speakers English. In his spare time, Bob spent many wonderful hours sailing and swimming in the local waters and he always had a book under way.
A memorial service will be held this coming Saturday, November 3 at 11:00 a.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 285 Lyons Plain Road in Weston. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to Emmanuel Episcopal Church. To offer online condolences to Bob's family please visit www.boutonfuneralhome.com