Roland Heddins

Roland Jeffery Heddins, a man whose life was reflected in his relationship with Jesus and love for people, graduated to heaven on November 23, 2024, at his home in Garden Valley, Texas.

Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on October 17, 1960, to Charles Roland and Barbara Ann (Daigle) Heddins. He was the oldest of four boys and was raised in a loving Christian home. He gave his life to Jesus at age thirteen.

Roland spent his formative years in Rosario, Argentina with his family, where he developed a love for travel and a fluency in Spanish. This international experience instilled in him a curiosity for people and shaped his spiritual worldview. The family later moved back to Louisiana in 1971 when Roland was eleven.

A graduate of Sulphur High School (Class of 1978), Roland furthered his education at McNeese State University, where he received his Associate Degree in Electronics Technology in 1980. After college, he worked for a natural gas pipeline company until 1983.

In 1983, Roland attended a discipleship school at the late Keith Green's Last Days Ministries (LDM) in Garden Valley, Texas, where he served on staff for over a decade, utilizing his technical and translation skills. While living in Garden Valley, he began to attend a church that later became Community Christian Fellowship (CCF). In the mid-1990s, he did freelance work as Heddins Electronics providing electronic repair/wiring services and went on short-term missions trips around the world with YWAM and Mercy Ships. In 2003, he joined CCF and later served as the Technical Manager and Missions Pastor until his death.

In 2001, Roland faced a life-threatening battle with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma cancer. This challenging situation deepened his faith, refreshed his relationship with God, and inspired him to minister to others what he had learned about the spiritual roots of disease.

Roland's passion for genealogy started early. He began exploring his family history by examining his grandmother's collection of old photographs. At the age of thirteen, he embarked on a journey of personal interviews, recording conversations with his grandparents and other relatives on cassette tapes. He later attended numerous family reunions, armed with his 35mm camera and a close-up lens so he could capture the old photos that people would bring with them. Over time, Roland honed his skills as a videographer and photographer, documenting his life and family's history. Roland's interest in genealogy was intertwined with his love for people. He valued the connections he forged with hundreds of distant cousins over the decades.

Throughout Roland's life, he was a connector, a historian; he was a spiritual innkeeper of facts, people, places. His big open arms provided love for his family, his alumni groups, his church family, his thousands of friends made during global mission trips. He facilitated many reunions and kept the memory of people and past events alive in the present. He continually travelled all over the world to spend time with friends and they travelled to Texas to spend time with him. He was a whole heart lover; if he loved one person, he loved their entire family. He had eyes to see the wanderer, the lost, the invisible. He was a watchman staying on the ready to hear God's voice about the needs of others. He respected and held space for people who had different beliefs from his own. By earthly means, he wasn't well known, he lived modestly, his furniture and clothes were often hand-me-downs. He didn't take himself too seriously and he had a great sense of humor. At some point, Roland figured out how to simplify his life to a focus of loving God and loving people (Mat. 22:37-39).

"Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." John 11:25-26

Roland's family was important to him and he remained close to them throughout his life. Preceded in death by his father, Charles Heddins (2011), and brother, Stuart Heddins (2015). Survived by his mother, Barbara Heddins; brothers, David Heddins (Kathy) and Jonathan Heddins; nieces and nephews, Caleb Heddins (Christy), Delia Hernandez (John), Ryan Heddins, and Ethan Heddins; and great-nieces and great-nephews, Jesse Tassin, Jaxton Thibodeaux, Colin Heddins, Logan Heddins, and Natalie Heddins.

A celebration of life service will be held on January 11, 2025, at 2:00 PM CST at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the CCF Missions Committee.

Published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph