Roland Bruce Elliott

ROLAND ELLIOTT MUSCATINE, Iowa - Roland Bruce Elliott, 86, of Muscatine, died on Monday, September 23, 2013, surrounded by his family. Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 27, 2013, at St. Mathias Church. The Reverend Jacob Griener of Ss. Mary and Mathias Parish will officiate. Honorary bearers will be Wayne Reed, Dave Hayden, Jack Cheline, Ray Holmes, and John Holmes. Casket bearers will be Brandon Elliott, Dennis Elliott Jr., Jacob Freeman, Ryan Freeman, Daniel Patino, and Eric Patino. Burial will take place in Rock Island National Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 until 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 26, 2013, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Marine Corps League, American Lung Association, or the Ss. Mary and Mathias Parish. Roland was born on October 13, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Lorenzo Henry and Estella May Richards Elliott. He married Julia Holmes on December 26, 1977, at St. Mathias Church in Muscatine, Iowa. He served in the US Marine Corps Fifth Division from 1943 until 1948, fighting in Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Japan. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Corpor...[more]

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He performed outstanding duty in the US Air Force from 1950 until 1954 as a Radioman, Navigator, Co-Pilot, and Bombardier, while flying the notorious B-36 Peacemaker and other various types of military aircraft. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Airman First Class. He retired from Bandag in 1988, after 35 plus years of employment. He was a member of the Ss. Mary and Mathias Parish. He was an avid artist who enjoyed oil painting, woodworking, and gardening. He also loved to travel every chance he could and he also liked to fly his own airplane. Those left to honor his memory include his wife, Julie Elliott of Muscatine; six sons, Mark Elliott, Daniel Freeman and wife, Vionne, of Muscatine, Bruce Elliott of Muscatine, Dennis Elliott of Spencer, Chuck Freeman and wife, Heather, of Washington State, and Robert Freeman and wife, Maisa, of Muscatine; three daughters, Rolanna Frye of Muscatine, Debbie Tucker and husband, James, of Texas, and Julianna Freeman and Kaitie of California; 19 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Maurice Elliott; sisters, Eleanor Brown, Jaranese Lamoreux, and Joyce Gerth; and one granddaughter, Tracy Lynn Freeman.