James "Jim" A. Rolls III

To encounter Jim Rolls was to witness a man of utmost integrity. He had stores of common sense, patience, and a steady temperance, and according to his wife, Gloria, never said a mean thing to her in 65 years of marriage. He was a loyal father to three children, nurturing them to be responsible citizens, never with a heavy hand or lecture, but through simple deeds. At the appropriate age, he took each kid to open a bank account and deposit their babysitting or paper route earnings. If any of them wanted to try smoking as teenagers, he suggested they buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke together - the ultimate turnoff.

Born and bred in his beloved District of Columbia, Jim was a graduate of St. Albans and later Bucknell University, where he majored in civil engineering, and thus, forever hung a T-square and leveler on his basement peg board. There was a quiet purpose and precision in much of his activities, whether it was reviewing architectural plans for a job site, stringing Christmas lights with accuracy, studying a hand of bridge, or cutting his food into bite size pieces. His handwriting was exact, never difficult to translate, and executed with his favorite Pilot rolling ball pens, appropriately named the “PRECISE V5”. Various colors of these pens and highlighters were found in his personal effects upon his passing as well as pads of old-fashioned grid paper used to track and record data and results of all sorts of sports leagues and teams.

Jim was not the loudest man in the room, nor the funniest, but he was engaged, interested and attentive to those around him. He enjoyed conversation and spent most mornings with Gloria discussing the day’s local and national news, often reading stories to each other. He was always eager for updates of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as family was his compass. The Outer Banks and Sunset Beach were annual destinations to break away from work, assemble with family and friends and enjoy a little bodysurfing, a good spy novel and preparing gin and tonics for cocktail hour. Not surprisingly, Jim was an old-school, fiscal conservative Republican until he astounded his family at the dinner table one night, declaring he was voting for Hillary Clinton. The man could not abide hatred.

Upon retirement, he and Gloria migrated from Virginia to North Carolina where he became an avid UNC Tarheels fan, much to the disgruntlement of his kids, all UVA grads. He even became a long-time UNC Dean Dome usher, his scruples never wavering when his family sought favor for better seats. Perhaps this was why he was honored as “Usher of the Year”. In Chapel Hill, he busily volunteered in a behind the scenes manner on many fronts - assembling the neighborhood newsletter, preparing taxes for under-resourced individuals, and serving as a guardian ad litem for foster children.

Jim died on April 7 after defying the odds for four years with a mesothelioma diagnosis. Exposure to asbestos at a younger age impacted his lung capacity throughout his life, hindering his physical capabilities. Thus, his family was astonished to learn their father had once bagged peaks in the Tetons. He never begrudged this fate. He simply accepted this limitation, never complaining through his 90 years on this earth.

Jim leaves behind many dear friends who will miss his gentle, earnest and ethical nature and three generations of family who always had his attentive ear and unconditional love.

He was grateful to his hospice caregivers the last two years of his life. Donations in his memory may be made to Trellis Supportive Care, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC, 27103.