Thomas “Popeye” Roland
Thomas P. Roland “Popeye”, 63 died peacefully with family by his side Wednesday April 11, 2019, after a short courageous battle of cancer. He was born May 9, 1955, in Marinette.
He is survived by his wife of 23 years, Christine; his daughter, Jenny Meetz and grandson, Graham both of Saint Simon Island, GA; brothers, James (Nancy) Roland, Reno, NV; David (Joanne) Roland and Robert (Merry) Roland all of Marinette; his mother-in-law, Kathleen Culligan, Suamico; sisters-in-law, Amy Jo (Michael) Meyers, Columbus; and Nichole (Joe) Holzem, Morgan; 14 nephews and nieces: Danny (Michelle) Roland, Chris (Melanie) Roland, Peter Roland, Jason (Tiffany) Roland, Amy (Todd) Schoen, Emily (Justin) Roland, Matthew (Gabriella) Roland, Michael (Kelly) Roland, Rebecca (Jason) Olson, John Roland, Melissa (Billy Jo) King, Jackson Meyers, Kady Meyers, and Carley Meyers and Delaney Holzem; many great nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Cephas and Blanche (Janowitz) Roland; a sister, Shirley and two brothers Dick (Pat) and John Roland; his father-in-law James Culligan, and his fur babies Alex and Cooper.
Tom graduated from Marinette Catholic Central in 1973, and received two Associate’s Degrees from NWTC in Electro Mechanical Design and Architecture. He worked in the paper converting industry for the majority of his career including at Tufco LP, Celleynne Corp., NPS Corp., and most recently for Napcon Inc. Prior to that, Tom owned his own home building company, Cliff View Construction and had worked as a semi-truck driver for Triangle Distributing while putting himself through school.
In his early years, Tom was a member of the Green Bay High Riders 4×4 Club where he developed many lifelong friendships and was coined with the CB handle of “Grasshopper”. Tom had a great sense of humor with a large laugh, no matter how many times he heard the same joke.
Tom was always drawn to the water and finally made a dream come true when he and Christine purchased their own home on the bay. He worked many years remodeling and designing their log home and loved to share it with family and friends at their annual Broom Ball and 4th of July parties, which were always highlighted by a huge firework display that could be seen across the bay. Tom loved to fish and was looking forward to spending this summer recuperating doing just that.
Tom was also an avid sports enthusiast and loved his Sunday “Napcar”, as well as the Packers, Brewers and Bucks. He also loved camping and shared that love with his nephew Jackson and nieces Kady and Carley. In fact, it was Jackson who fondly gave Tom his nickname of “Popeye” while camping, which everyone quickly adopted…he was the Captain after all.
Friends and family may gather at the Proko-Wall Funeral Home, 1630 E. Mason St. from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monday. A Memorial Service will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home. The Celebration of Tom’s Life will continue at the Four Way Bar and Restaurant, 1801 Riverside Drive in Suamico.
Tom loved his fur babies, therefore a memorial fund has been established to benefit the Green Bay Area Humane Society.