Charles Rollinger

Charles Rollinger, 85, of St. Joseph, died on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, after a lengthy illness at Caretel Inns of Lakeland. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10:30 AM, Monday, September 23, 2019, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 220 Church St., St. Joseph, with Father Arul Lazar officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family on Sunday, September 22, from 5PM until 7PM at Starks & Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church or Caring Circle Hospice. Those wishing to leave an online condolence may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Charlie was born in 1934 in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He grew up in Chicago’s South Shore area where he met his future wife, June, they were next door neighbors! Years of being good friends ended up in a 1957 wedding. With a deep admiration for St. Ignatius, Charlie was proud of his ‘Jebbie’ (aka Jesuit) education. He was a proud alumni of St. Ignatius High School in Chicago, John Carroll University in Cleveland, and University of Detroit Mercy. Charlie went on to earn his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, Chicago, while he worked for Borg-Warner in the Chicago suburbs. He and June were thrilled to enjoy the birth of their first-born son, Marty. Soon after, the United States Air Force "invited" him to serve his country by teaching math at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. He and June became the proud parents to two more children, Catherine “Casey” & Terese “Terry”, who were both born at the United States Air Force Hospital, at the beautiful foothills of Pikes Peak. Those three years spent in Colorado, Charlie became addicted to the beauty of the Colorado mountains. He used the opportunity of living there to explore what mother nature had to offer by hiking and road trips. Charlie moved his growing family to St. Joseph to work for Whirlpool Corp. as Director of Engineering Research. He and June continued to grow their family with the births of a daughter, Kristen and a son, Tom. Charlie was an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church since 1964, serving as an usher and greeter. When Charlie left Whirlpool after 10 years, he established a Computer Dept. for Berrien County government, which included researching mainframes, working with IBM reps, county employees, and the courts. Finally, after purchase and installation of the mainframe, he began to hire staff to run the department. If asked what was the most important, chances are he would say that it was incorporating the use of the barcode. Charlie was a visionary, often asking “What will the future be like?” He saw things ahead of their time. For example, flex time for his staff of the County Computer Department. He was also a numbers person and had an uncanny memory for dates of occasions of years ago. Anyone who knew Charlie knew his mind never quit. He had many interests and involvement, always looking for ways to serve and better the community. He began to find desirable land to develop into subdivisions which includes Oakview #1, Oakview #2, Maple Shadows, The Pines #1, The Pines #2, Southfork, Southfork Woods, June Trace, Washington Crossing, and North Lincoln Crossing. As a passionate car collector, Charlie owned a 1960 green VW Beetle, then went on to VW Campers. To accommodate his growing family, he bought a 1969 Pontiac Station Wagon, which can comfortable fit 9 passengers. Accumulating a variety of cars was fun for him, as was the challenge of building a garage to house them. A member of the 9-1-1 advisory committee, Charlie developed the operational aspects of the system. He was also a member of the Berrien County Planning Commission, St. Joseph Charter Township Board of Appeals and Parks Board, Tau Beta Pi (engineering) at the University of Detroit, a lifetime member of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineering), and Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Honor Society). What was amazing about Charlie, was his endless capacity for fun and adventure. He loved hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, RV’ing, reading, Sudoku puzzles, and tinkering. He had a gift of fixing anything mechanical. Although able to dismantle, fix and repair a washing machine and tell you the function of each part, his children knew he would not know how to run the washer to do a load of clothes, lol. Charlie is survived by his wife June, of 62 years; children: Martin (Sheila), Catherine “Casey” Norton, Terese (Richard) Wakefield, Kristen (Mark) Silvey, Thomas (Pearl); grandchildren, Ben, Jill, Elizabeth, Sarah, identical twins Katie & Megan, Lukas, Richard V, and Edward; and, great-grandchildren, Hunter, Gunner, and Tinley Grace. The family would like to thank the loving staff at Caretel and Hospice at Home for their dedication and help.