Dr. Ronald A. Rollins, Sr.'s Obituary
Dr. Rollins, Sr. Obituary
Dr. Ronald Allen Rollins Sr., 79, died Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, at the Cleveland Clinic, after an eight-month struggle with leukemia. He was a resident of Oberlin, Ohio, since 1970 and enjoyed a long practice as an obstetrician/gynecologist at the Oberlin Clinic and Allen Memorial Hospital. He was proud to have cared for thousands of patients, and to have brought many babies safely into the world. Dr. Rollins was born July 13, 1934, in Montgomery, W.Va., and attended Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, W.Va. -- the first member of his family to complete higher education. He attended the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and was a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1970. He was a longtime member of The First Church in Oberlin United Church of Christ, where he held numerous lay leadership positions and oversaw groundskeeping. He was a member of the board of trustees of Davis & Elkins, where he helped establish an endowed professorial chair in honor of a beloved teacher and led other development efforts. He was a busy volunteer and board member, along with his wife, Barbara, at the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts (FAVA) in Oberlin. He served on the Kendal at Oberlin senior independence board. He and Barbara were selected as Oberlins Citizens of the Year in 2012 by the Oberlin News-Tribune. His interests and hobbies included gardening and landscaping; American history, especially that of the Civil War and the Lincoln presidency; reading; travel; and attending watercolor painting classes and workshops with Barbara. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Barbara; sister, Brenda Wagner and her husband, David; children and spouses, Melanie Hart (nee Schwinn) and John, Ronald Jr. and Amy, Amber Bock and Neil, Heather Laughman and Steve, and Brett Rollins and Robin Phillips; 11 grandchildren; one great-grandchild and a nephew. A memorial service will be Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at The First Church in Oberlin United Church of Christ, Main and Lorain Streets, Oberlin, OH. Memorial contributions may be made to the church or FAVA, 36 So. Main St., Oberlin, OH 44074. Dicken Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Elyria handled arrangements. For online condolences, visit www.dickenfuneralhome.com
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