Rolland Esque's Obituary
Rolland C. Esque (R.C.), 69 of Cornelius left this physical world February 7, 2016. He was born February 3, 1947 in Logan, WV to the late Carmel and Hazel Esque, and was proud of his family heritage in coal country. He served in the US Air Force from 1965 until his retirement in 1986. When requested by the Air Force to participate in Operation Desert Storm, he was proud to serve. By achieving a Bachelor’s Degree for Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma, RC realized a life- long dream.
As a child in West Virginia living the life of a coal miner’s son, he and his brother, Charles Henry, developed their true sense of honor, family, and commitment. He was always a happy boy playing hard and fast, sometimes more dangerously than his mother would have liked if she had known. Their life was not a lavish one, but all he knew was that he had a large family who loved and supported him. As Daddy would always say about his childhood, “we were dirt poor and didn’t know it.”
He endeavored to be a good mentor, brother, father and grandfather, coaching sports teams, even going in to “harm’s way” as a Little League Umpire. He proudly attended dance recitals, plays, parades and riding lessons for his children and grandchildren. He loved engineering Pinewood Derby cars, ill-fated camping trips, helping with homework, and being part of the fun with his family and friends. Grandpops, as he loved to be called, was an all-around happy, positive, gentle person.
RC was quick to smile and humble with his advice. He was passionate in his love of the game, baseball and football, that is. Come game day in early fall he would don his Cleveland Browns lucky hat and various shirts to promote his team win or lose. Spring was all Cleveland Indians.
The love of books and all things science fiction started as a small child with a simple story about aliens and reaching for other worlds. It made him an avid reader and collector of books. RC couldn’t pass a book store, garage sale, or book rack without scanning the selections. He secretly fanaticized about flying to the moon and other galaxies. He spent many hours with his children and granddaughters studying the stars.
Since the 1970’s he was fascinated by computers and video games. He taught us programming and later tried to build a color x-ray machine in our living room. Later in life with his son, Michael, he discovered the computer gaming world. He was delighted to connect with people around the world on-line, and taunts from 9 year olds, near and far, were never better received.
He left us with a wonderful legacy of father, brother, and grandfather. His greatest legacy was husband. I will miss his gentle touch, the calming effect of his words, the voice of reason in the chaos of living, and his unending capacity for humor, wry as it might have been. He faced each day with a smile, I will miss that smile, my best friend, confidant, and dearest love.
Survivors include his wife Deborah; sons, Brian Esque and wife Rebecca of Davidson and C. Michael Esque and wife Kimberly of Moore, OK; and grandchildren, Kendall, Parker, Olivia and Addison.
He is preceded in death by his daughter, Amy Kathleen Esque, brother Charles Esque. parents, Carmel and Hazel Esque, and father figure, Paw Paw to his children, Lloyd Ellis.
The funeral service will be held at 5:00 PM Saturday, February 13 in the chapel of James Funeral Home in Huntersville with Rev. Rick Felts officiating. A reception will follow in the community room of James Funeral Home. Inurnment will be private at Salisbury National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to the American Cancer Society would be appreciated.
James Funeral Home of Huntersville is serving the family. www.jamesfuneralhomeLKN.com
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