Charles F. Roland, Jr., 83, of Warwick passed away July 9, 2013 at home. He was the beloved husband of Joan E. (Bradley) Roland for 60 years.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was a son of the late Charles F. Roland, Sr. and Wilhelmina (Snefsky) Roland. After service in the Korean War, in which he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantry Badge, he worked as a Quality Control Engineer. In this profession, he worked for the Westinghouse Atomic Power for US Steel, where he was assigned to the development of the USS Nautilus, and Knox Glass in Industrial and Quality Engineering Posts. He moved to Cranston, Rhode Island in 1966, while with Knox Glass, and joined Corning Glass Works in Central Falls as a Quality Control Supervisor in 1967. He traveled to and lived in Venezuela, Hungary and the USSR representing Corning quality interests. After GTE took over the Central Falls plant, he retired in 1987. A graduate of the Providence Diocese Ministry Institute, he then took a staff position at St. Mark Parish in Garden City. He moved to Warwick in 1999, where he was a communicant of SS Rose & Clement Parish.
He was the beloved father of Charles J. Roland and his wife, Diane, Richard M. Roland and his wife, Barbara and Paul G. Roland and his wife, Kathleen, all of Warwick and Barbara E. Fournier and her husband, Peter of North Kingstown. Loving grandfather of Kristen, Kristina, Andrew and Nicholas Roland and Daniel and Matthew Fournier. Cherished brother of John M. Roland, Sr. of Valencia, Pennsylvanis and the late Ronald W. Roland.
His funeral will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. from The Urquhart-Murphy Funeral Home, 800 Greenwich Avenue, Route 5, Warwick (Exit 12A on I-95) with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m. in St. Clement Church, 111 Long Street, Warwick. Burial, with military honors, will follow in Rhode Island Veterans’ Cemetery, Exeter. Relatives and friends are invited and may call on Friday from 4-7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory to Beacon Hospice, 1 Catamore Blvd., East Providence, RI 02914 would be appreciated. www.murphyfuneralhomes.org
