Melvin Roland Oliver Jr.

Funeral service for Melvin Roland Oliver Jr., 77, of Decatur, will be Monday, January 14, 2013, at 11 a.m., at Roselawn Funeral Home Chapel. The Rev. Roger Jenkins will be officiating and Roselawn Funeral Home will be directing. Burial will follow at Decatur City Cemetery.Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. prior to the service at the funeral home.

Mr. Oliver, who died on Friday, January 11, 2013, at UAB Hospital, was born on April 4, 1935, in Decatur, to Melvin Roland Oliver Sr. and Odessa Creel Oliver.

Roland grew up in Decatur, Alabama. He graduated from Decatur High School in 1952. After high school he attended college at Florence State University in Florence, Alabama, where he received a Business degree with a minor in French. He joined the US Army and served in the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1959, achieving the rank of Captain. Afterwards, he served in the National Guard. Early in his career, Mr. Oliver became a manager for a local theatre and a broadcaster for local area radio stations. In 1965, he founded Oliver Associates, Inc., a manufacturer's sales agency, where he continued to actively work.

Roland was a member of First Baptist Church of Decatur. He was an avid golfer and was a member of Decatur Country Club and Shoal Creek Country Club in Birmingham. He had a passion for flying and held a commerical pilot's license. He was also a snow skiing enthusiast and an ardent reader.

He is preceded in death by his daughter, Jan Oliver Brosemer; his parents; and his sister, Rebecca Hansen Oliver.

Mr. Oliver is survived by his daughter, Julie Oliver Cochran and her husband, Michael ; three brothers, Jerry (Betty) Oliver, Bill (Gloria) Oliver, Tommy (Sandy) Oliver; and two grandchildren, Elizabeth Cochran and Samuel Cochran.

Pallbearers will be Jerry Oliver, Bill Oliver, Tommy Oliver, Michael Cochran, Dr. Jim Wiley, and Robert French.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First Baptist Church in Decatur.