Rowland HOLLYOAKE

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HOLLYOAKE: Rowland William, 1918 - 2011. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Rowland (Roly) William Hollyoake at the Brandon Assiniboine Centre unit on November 11, 2011 at the age of 93. Roly was born March 20, 1918 in Stony Stratford, England.  He emigrated with his family from England to Canada when he was 11 years old.  The family settled in Mannville Alberta on a farm, which was not Roly's cup of tea and as soon as he was able, he joined the Air Force in 1942. After training in Ontario he was posted to Dauphin Paulson Airport as an aircraft mechanic.  He spent his entire air force life at Paulson Airport and freelanced as the base projectionist to entertain the troops with movies. After his honorable discharge from the war (1945), he met his future wife Louise Musgrave in Dauphin. He decided to hitchhike to Hollywood where he would meet Bob Hope & Mary Pickford and stay with Roddy McDowall.  His story of this trip was told over and over again. After returning from Hollywood, Roly & Louise were married on June 25, 1946.  They had five children, 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. In 1949, Roly Joined the Dauphin Lions Club.  This was the beginning of a 60 year relationship with Lions and in 1984 he was elected District Governor of 5M12; this was to be his "other" family as we knew it; his Lion's family.  He was a devoted Lions member and served right up until his stroke.  Because of his devotion to Lions, he received many prestigious Lion's awards, was the first Lion elected into the 5M13 Hall of Fame, and helped to organize 17 Lion’s clubs during his term as governor. Before retiring to Souris in 1986, Roly enjoyed many years in the hotel business in Dauphin and Souris, as well as many other business endeavors. In 2007 Roly moved from Souris to Brandon where he resided at Victoria Landing.  He soon became an important part of that family and served as their bartender twice a week - his claim to fame "the oldest bartender in North America", which made the newspapers across the country and aired on CBC news radio. He will be lovingly remembered by his five children, Gary, David (Barb), Doug (Charlene), Janice (Ed Neufeld) and Mark (Marlene), also his 12 grandchildren Greg, Kevin & Corrine, Chris & Jeff (Lori), Megan & Alyssa, Blake, Jill & Katie Neufeld, Shane & Savanna, great grandchildren Brittany & Alex and Tayler, his brother's Reg & Dennis and sister Margaret. Roly was pre-deceased by his wife Louise in 2002. He was loved and respected by all who knew him and will be sorely missed. Cremation has taken place. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at St. Paul’s United Church in Souris, Manitoba on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. followed by fellowship and refreshments in the church auditorium. Kowalchuk’s Funeral Home, Souris is in care of the arrangements. The family would like to express our sincere thanks to the Brandon General Hospital and the Assiniboine Centre for the care dad received. The family wishes to thank all those that who helped in our time of need. A private family service will also be held at Riverside Cemetery in Dauphin at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Roly's memory to the Lions Foundation of Canada Guide Dog program or the Lions Foundation of Manitoba & N. W. Ontario.Because of you,our own small worldwill never be the same,and all our hearts arefilled with love when people speak your name.But though your facemay not be seenamong us here today,your heart is feltin all the heartsyou changed along the way.

As published in Brandon Sun on Nov 16, 2011