Roland Henry Kolman Jr. (Roli), age 83, passed away Tuesday, January 25, 2022. He was born on February 20, 1938 in Saint Louis, Missouri to the late Roland Henry Kolman Sr. and Theodora (Herbster). Roli grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri, graduating from Normandy High School in 1956, where he excelled at sports (football and basketball), which started a lifetime love of athletic competition.
While at Dartmouth College, Roli captained the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club before graduating with a Sociology degree in 1960. After graduating from Boston University with a Master's degree in Public Relations in 1961, Roli spent two years in the US Army's Officer Candidate School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Upon his honorable discharge from the Army, he started his business career in Kansas City, Missouri working at Hallmark Cards. While in Kansas City, he co-founded the Kansas City Rugby Football Club and captained the club the first two seasons of existence in 1964-1965. Roli had a successful 40+ year career in the Sales/Marketing industry for a variety of apparel and consumer goods companies.
Always the gregarious salesman, he could strike up a conversation with anyone and was consistently ready with a witty or sarcastic quip to keep the conversation lively and interesting. Roli was an avid tennis player and runner, but was not just another "dumb jock", having many other interests outside of sports. Roli loved reading and especially loved reading WWII history. He also loved jazz music, "jamming" to many favorites – from Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery and Herbie Mann to Joey DeFrancesco, Bob James and Maynard Ferguson. Upon his retirement, Roli made Dublin, Ohio his home and was a devoted volunteer in the Dublin community. He was a member of The Country Club at Muirfield Village and relished Monday Night Tennis with his "Tennis Brothers". He always enjoyed listening to the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and cheering on his adopted Ohio State Buckeyes, among many other things. To those who knew him, Roli was a unique person, who marched to his own beat, but, most importantly, he was a great friend to all who were lucky enough to be called his friend. He will be forever in our hearts. In addition to his parents, Roli was preceded in death by his first wife, Mimi Izzard Kolman in 1975. He will be greatly missed by Charlotte Coomer of Dublin, Ohio; son, Kent Kolman (Beth) of Richardson, Texas; son, Ted Kolman (Clair) of Lantana, Texas; and his grandchildren, Caroline and Whit. Memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions in Roli's honor may be made to the Kansas City Rugby Football Club (KCRFC): https://www.kcrugby.org/dues-donations. To share memories or condolences, please visit www.schoedinger.com. Arrangements entrusted to SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST.