James Edward Roland

Jimmy Roland was born to Bernace and Ruby Wiser Roland on July 2, 1948 in Terrell, Texas. He married Kathy Glover on February 2 in 1978. He lived all of his life in Forney, Texas, and attended Forney schools. He attended Henderson County Junior College and Texas A&M University. He spent his summers doing custom farm work with his daddy, not only as father and son, but also as very good friends. On February 1 of 1973 he began his career with the Mesquite Fire Department as a firefighter and by December he was promoted to Driver Engineer. He made Lieutenant in January of 1976, Captain in December of 1984, and was named Assistant Fire Chief in April of 1993, serving as interim Chief on two occasions. From 1973 to 1983 he served in the Operations Division. At that time he was named to manage the department’s Emergency Medical Services Division when the department began providing an advanced level of pre-hospital emergency care. In 1992 he led as project manager for the installation of a state-of-the-art radio communications system for the Mesquite Police and Fire Departments. Chief Don Nelson stated that the project’s success was largely due to the tireless efforts and dedication of Captain Jimmy Roland. For this outstanding work in managing the radio system he received a certificate of commendation from the City Council of Mesquite. In 1993 he was also honored to be named Fireman of the Year by the Elks Lodge in Mesquite for his outstanding accomplishments. His volunteer contributions were numerous and far reaching. In Mesquite he was involved with the Mesquite Independent School District, hospitals, and many other activities with various organizations. In his home town of Forney, Jimmy served with the Forney Volunteer Fire Department for 24 years. He was honored to be named Inspector, Captain, Fire Marshall, Training Officer, Assistant Chief, Chief, and Fireman of the Year. He also served on the Kaufman County CPR Committee for the American Heart Association as well as serving with the Kaufman County Emergency Services District 6. Jimmy always enjoyed giving his time and service to the First United Methodist Church. In addition to his dedication in helping maintain the church lawn, he also taught Sunday School classes of various age groups for over 25 years and worked with the United Methodist Youth Group for over 20 years. He also served as Lay Leader and chairman of various councils throughout the years. It gave him great pride to cook pancakes for church events, drive the church van for youth activities, and any other place he could lend a helping hand. The church was always a tremendous part of him and he will always be a monumental part of the church. These accomplishments were not the hallmark of his life. Jimmy has always been dedicated to his family. He regularly coached soccer and could always be found working the concession stand during every home football game as a fundraiser for the school band when he son was a drummer. You could count on finding him in the stands at every away game. He even attempted to braid her hair when he took his daughter to dance recitals. Jimmy passed away on October 1, 2018. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bernace E. and Ruby Wiser Roland. He is survived by his wife Kathy Roland, daughter Kimberly Harrison, son Jarod Roland and wife Lauren, grandchildren Asher and Elijah Harrison, sister Linda Bryant and husband Ned. In lieu of flowers, please give donations to the American Cancer Society in memory of Jimmy Roland.