Obituary of Ralph Rollans

John Ralph Rollans Jr. was born on March 12, 1939 to John Ralph and Olga Rollans in Vernon, Tx. He died on December 3, 2020 in Plano, Tx from declining health and Covid complications. He had many health issues over the past few years but always had a great attitude. He was a tough fighter who never complained. He attended Guthrie Elementary, Locket High School, and Vernon High School. He graduated From VHS in 1957. He enjoyed playing football and basketball during his high school years. He was beloved by his classmates. He attended Abilene Christian College where he received a bachelor’s degree in math. He then attended Texas Tech University and received his master’s degree. While going to Texas Tech he taught math at a nearby junior college to support his family. He helped many college friends “get through” the difficult math courses. He loved teaching math! He married the love of his life Nora Elaine Overand on August 27, 1960. The love they shared was deep and profound. They first met when they were 8 and 9 years old as neighbors on the Bateman Ranch near Guthrie, Texas. Many years later, at the encouragement of his mother Olga their paths crossed, and they were married in Rochester, Texas. They moved to Abilene where he attended ACC. They had one son Ralph Gregory in Abilene and then moved to Lubbock where they had their second son John Bradley. After receiving his master’s degree, he went to work for Texas Instruments and moved to Irving, Texas. There he worked in the Geophysical Division of Texas Instruments. He made many lifelong friends while at TI. In later years Haliburton bought the GSI division and Ralph was transferred to Bedford, England. He and Elaine lived in Bedford for several years and enjoyed travelling the countryside while they were there. Ralph and Elaine came back to the states and Ralph commuted to Houston, Texas for a while. He then worked for Citizens and traveled to Rochester, New York where he made many new friends. He never met a stranger. His early retirement years were spending time with Elaine, keeping in touch with friends and doing volunteer work at Richardson East. He worked in the Care Corp at the church picking up and distributing groceries for the church pantry donated by local businesses. He and Elaine were part of a Richardson East life group that met in Plano on a regular basis. After 53 years of marriage Elaine went to be with the Lord. Ralph exhibited such a strong Faith in Christ and studied his bible often. He had such a servant and humble Heart. Whenever a helping hand was needed Ralph volunteered. He helped Alan Bryan, a senior member from church dress for church and took him and his wife to church and back home. Shortly after Alan died, Charlie Broom needed help too. What a blessing he was to them and their families. Ralph also responded to the need of a high school classmate from Dallas with Parkinson’s. The friend wanted to attend their Vernon High class reunion, but his wife needed help because he was in a wheelchair. Ralph was instrumental in helping him get to the Reunion and encouraged other classmates to visit with him at their hotel. On other occasions, in Dallas he brought him brats from Henk’s Deli. Anyone who knew Ralph understood Henke’s Black Forrest Café’ was his favorite spot to meet with friends for lunch. Ralph also loved to make origami shirts from dollar bills and would give them to children at church or as a tip to a hard-working waitress at a restaurant. He would sit behind a child in church and before the service was over, he had constructed a perfect dollar bill shirt and presented it to them. Such a sweet thing for him to do. Ralph loved to fish and hunt whether it was on his parent’s farm, on someone else’s land, East Texas or even in Florida. He learned to hunt at an early age on his parent’s land south of Vernon. He also enjoyed working on cars and passed this interest on to his sons. Ralph is preceded in death by his wife Elaine in 2013 and a brother Mickey Rollans who died in early 2020. Ralph is survived by his two sons, Greg and Brad, Brad’s wife Michele and their daughter Merideth. He is also survived by his sister Evasue Rollans Firmin, her husband Mike and their daughter Jennifer. He is survived by Mickey’s wife Dianne Pettit Rollans, their two sons, Ryan, Mike, and wife Valerie. Ralph leaves behind many friends from all walks of his life. His big heart, generosity and compassion drew people to him. The love he shared for his friends was apparent. And they loved him as well. He kept in touch with almost all of them and would have lunch or a visit with them whenever he could, which brought him much joy. He had planned a future trip to the hill country with his good friend Doug Harris upon Ralph’s release from his latest medical rehab. He had several friends he wanted to visit on his bucket list. He always wanted to make it back to Scotland to visit David Stott and visit his friend Larry Shaver in Oregon, but he was not physically able to make these trips. Ralph was a true friend to many. He loved his family and would do anything for them. He was a special servant, friend, father, brother, dad, granddad, father-in-law, brother-in-law and uncle and he loved the Lord. He will be deeply missed by his family and so many dear friends. There will be a memorial service at Richardson East Church of Christ, (Care Church) on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 2:00 pm. It will be live streamed as well as recorded for those that cannot attend.