Joseph L. Rollins

Joseph L Rollins January 7, 1939 – August 11, 2025 Joseph Livingstone Rollins was born on January 7, 1939, and died on August 11, 2025, in Rocklin, California. Joe’s father, Emanuel Rollins, a doctor, was a captain in the Navy. His mother, Dorothy Livingstone Rollins, had been a nurse before she married his father. Joe was their firstborn. Seven years later his brother, John, was born. The boys were born with interesting relatives on both their mother’s side as well as their father’s. Joe was given the middle name of Livingstone because it was his mother’s maiden name. She was related to the famous Dr. Livingstone who searched for the source of the Nile River. In 1871, Livingstone, who had been out of touch, was finally found by journalist Henry Morton Stanley who’d been sent by the New York Herald. Legend has it that Stanley greeted the frail Livingstone with the words, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?". Livingstone responded, "Yes, and I thank God, doctor, that I am here to welcome you". Joe’s grandfather on his father’s side had been part of both the Buffalo Bill Wild West show and later the Pawnee Bill Wild West show. He counted among his friends both Annie Oakley and Chief Sitting Bull. When the show went to Europe to perform, Joe’s grandfather met, fell in love with and married his grandmother, Rae, who was part of a Russian dance troupe that toured Europe with the show. When the popularity of the wild west shows faded, the actors transferred easily into the silent western movies that were popular at the time. It was there that his grandfather met and became fast friends with William S. Hart, the actor and author. Joe remembered spending a lot of time at Hart’s ranch with his grandfather. Joe counted among his treasures a book and photo of Hart autographed with personal messages. Because Joe’s father was in the Navy, they moved wherever his father received new orders. Joe told stories about what a great adventure it had been to travel by Navy ship and cross the International Date Line to live in Guam for several years. He spent several years of elementary school there and graduated from 8th grade at the Hilaan school in 1953. When his father was reposted to the states, they lived in Bremerton near Seattle. It was there that he graduated high school. That summer he also enlisted in the Navy. He claimed that his mom was so upset she marched down to the recruiter’s office to tell them he couldn’t join. The recruiter simply smiled and said, “Sorry, ma’am, he’s over 18 and signed willingly so he’s ours now.” The Navy was a surprising decision since Joe had a deep-seated fear of water. He’d almost drowned when he was very young. He’d been accidentally pushed off a crowded pier and a sailor had jumped in to save him. It was a challenge to pass the mandatory swim test all sailors must complete. In the Navy he served on an LST, the USS Terrell County. One of his assigned duties was to act as the ship’s talker on the bridge with headphones relaying instructions to the engineers from the captain. No matter what the situation was, he had to remain calm. He told unforgettable stories of hearing the comments of the engineers when one of the captains under which he served seemed to have trouble navigating the ship. The captain issued orders on one occasion that were so faulty that the ship plowed into a dock. And another time he plowed open the side of another ship as the two ships were trying to perform a high line maneuver to exchange goods. Maybe because of incidents like these where he had to stay calm when others were losing their cool, Joe always seemed to have a calm demeanor. He used knowledge and skills he learned as a storekeeper on the ship to find immediate employment when he left the service and later to start and run a very successful shower door and glass company for over 30 years. His son Paul remembers working for him. Joe loved sports as an athlete and a loyal fan. His pro teams were the Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders. He also spent his freshman college year at Berkeley and was a tight end for the Cal Bears and later became a season ticket holder and “Bear Backer” for the California Golden Bears. A proud memory was the crowd cheering when he once ran the ball over 40 yards in a game against their chief rival, Stanford. He passed on his love of sports to his children. He coached his daughter Kim in softball and served as vice president of the Newark Bobby Sox. Every phone call or visit with his kids always started with sports talk. Joe married three times. With Ann he had two sons, Paul and Mattthew. With Nancy he added a daughter, Kimberley. When he married Judy, he became a beloved stepfather to her two children, John and Taunya. Road trips were one of Joe’s joys. He built his kids a bank of memories when he specifically purchased a van conversion and took the family on two month-long summer cross-country trips in the 1980’s. A few years later he took his grandson, Devin, to see the steam train in Durango Colorado. Joe and Nancy were avid ocean cruisers and he had albums filled with photos. He loved to be aboard ships and was eager to embrace the full adventure. He always willingly got up to be part of a silly show and never missed a buffet. With Judy he went to Canada to see the polar bear migration. They once stayed four cabins away from the Queen of England who had come for a royal visit. When Judy took him to Africa on safari, he marveled at seeing elephants, giraffes, lions, Cape buffalo, rhinos and hippos up close. He was not so happy to see two black mambas, a spitting cobra, a python and a puff adder. Knowing his fear of snakes, Judy told him there were not likely to be any snakes since she hadn’t seen any on her previous trips. Joe rode a camel at the pyramids in Egypt, kissed a live Panda in China and got bitten by a cranky horse in Romania. Joe was a great lover of animals. He had many dogs, including at one time, four Huskies. They were his pride and joy. He loved trains as much as he loved animals. His father teased that his mother must have been frightened by a train before he was born. Joe was an amazing and intense model railroader and model airplane builder. More than a hundred planes he put together hang from the ceiling of his train layout room. The buildings in his railroad towns were lovingly named after friends and family, like Devin’s Candy Shop and Taunya’s Photography shop. He kept meticulous records of each of his train engines and cars. His favorite engine was the SD45T2. Other train enthusiasts always honked and gave him the thumbs up on the road. So, you see, it wasn’t just model trains, but real ones at the Roseville roundhouse that he loved. Judy said he proposed as soon as he found out how close she lived to the Roseville roundhouse. Judy also observed that he did his best to pass along his train passion to his grandkids. She knew they’d caught “train fever” because they always asked to ride past the train yard. She knew how deep they got it when the youngest one insisted she roll down the window during a rainy ride so they could also “smell the trains”. Joe always seemed to be a kid at heart, always joking with everyone and his favorite holiday was Christmas. One year he set up eight Christmas trees and he took great pleasure in setting up a village. Joe was good at making bird sounds and funny whistles. It made him the favorite book reader when the kids were little. Whenever family got scattered, he had a distinctive, LOUD chirp that he made to bring them all back together. If you’ve heard it, it’s ringing in your ears right now! Joe is survived by: Wife: Judy Rollins Children: Paul Rollins Sr. and wife Lori Rollins Matthew Rollins and wife Lanette Rollins Kimberley Tetz and husband Michael Step-children: Taunya DeYoung and husband Kirk John Creelman and wife Brenda Roberts Grandchildren: Paul Rollins Jr and wife Carol Jesse Rollins and wife Andrea Brandi McCoy and husband Daniel Versailles Rollins and wife Stephanie Devin Rio and wife Carrie Danny Rio Macy Rio Weston Creelman Maya Creelman Great Grandchildren: Addison Rollins Ava Rollins Rylie Rollins Caden McCoy Maverick McCoy Raelynn McCoy Aiyana Randall Carson Rio Chase Rio A memorial service will be held October 4, 2025 11:00 a.m. Loomis Basin Congregational United Church of Christ 6440 King Road, Loomis, CA In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his name to the American Kidney Fund, 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852 https://www.kidneyfund.org/

Joseph L. Rollins

January 7, 1939 - August 11, 2025