Roland Dunbrack

A long life . . . well lived. Roland Leslie Dunbrack died of colon cancer on Friday, May 29, 2015 in the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice Residence in Wayland. He was 96.

Born on August 16, 1918 in Waltham, Roland was a son of Norman Kent Dunbrack and Gertrude (Scott) Dunbrack. His father and mother were born in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland respectively. Raised in Waltham, he graduated from Waltham High School in 1938 and from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston in 1940. Roland served his country honorably in the United States Navy during World War II, training American aircraft navigators in Brazil searching for German U-boats in the Atlantic.

He married Mary Josephine Sardi of Waltham on July 2, 1949 in the Rectory of the Sacred Heart Church in Waltham. Roland and Mary were married for over 52 years until her death on January 17, 2002. He lived in the same house on Lunda Street in Waltham from 1918 until 2010 when he moved to the Orchard Hill Assisted Living Community in Sudbury.

Roland was trained as a machinist like his father, and owned and operated D & R Products Co. in Waltham for over 45 years before retiring in 1985. He was a member of the National Screw Machine Products Association and served as chairman of its Eastern New England District in 1975-1976.

He had many interests. He loved the game of golf and was a member of the Nashua Country Club for over 40 years. He was an avid amateur photographer and built a darkroom in his home and developed and printed his own black-and-white photographs. He and Mary raised and showed Samoyed dogs for many years. He was a licensed pilot and owned a Piper Cherokee parked at Hanscom Field in Bedford. An active member of the Waltham Rotary Club, he served as its club president in 1979 – 1980 and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He and Mary loved dancing to music of the era in various places including Nuttings on the Charles and other dance venues.

In addition to his wife, Mary, he is predeceased by their daughter, Leslie Ann Dunbrack, who died January 22, 1960 and his siblings, Ralph Dunbrack, Hazel Wilkins and Dorothy Ritcey.

He leaves his children, Lynne A. Dunbrack of Wayland and Roland L. Dunbrack, Jr. of Philadelphia. He is also survived by his nephew Everett Ritcey and Everett's wife Karla, both of Waltham, and 12 other nieces and nephews.

Family and friends will honor and remember Roland's life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Monday, June 8th from 4 to 8 p.m. and again on Tuesday morning when his funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Waltham.

Donations in Roland's memory can be made to the Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia PA 19111 (http://www.fccc.edu), where his son Roland is a cancer researcher in the Molecular Therapeutics Program, or the Waltham Rotary Charity Fund, PO Box 540262, Waltham, MA 02454.