Rolland William Kast
ALBION – Rolland William Kast, 94, died peacefully on September 17, 2020 after a brief stay at the Tidewell Lakewood Ranch Hospice in Sarasota, Florida.
He was a very loving, steadfast, and guiding presence throughout our lives, and a genuine and knowledgeable friend to everyone he met.
Rolland was born Nov. 23, 1925 on the Kast farm in the town of Gaines to parents John T. and Ruth Chapman Kast. He is a graduate of Albion HS and Alfred State College and served in the Army during WW II in the Battle of the Bulge.
“Rollie” was proprietor of Kast Atlantic Service Station (ARCO) on the corner of East Ave. and Main in Albion for 24 years. He was an Albion Rotary Club member for more than 42 years, and was a past president and Paul Harris Fellow. He served as board member of the Albion Federal Savings & Loan for 20 years, and board member and past president of the Virgil Bogue Home Fund for dependent children. He was also a member of Renovation Lodge #97 for 65 years.
After many trips south as “snowbirds”, he and his wife, Anita (“Skeet”), retired from the north and became permanent Florida residents in Nokomis, Fl. They enjoyed tennis, travel, warm weather, the beach, friends, and visits from grandchildren.
Throughout his life, Rolland maintained close family ties, contributed to the community, and formed lifelong friendships. He was a social person who enjoyed a good conversation with others. The loss of companionship, realization of age-related limitations, and Covid-19 quarantine restrictions specifically had a direct effect on him. He did not suffer from the disease, just the effects of preventing it. Such are the times we live in.
Rolland is predeceased by his wife Anita of 66 years.
He is survived by his oldest brother Stanley, 102, of Albion and youngest brother Laverne, 93, of Lafayette, Indiana; daughters Jane Gill of Woodstock, Ga., Sandra Black of Saratoga, Ca. and son Dale Kast of Charlotte, NC; foreign exchange student “daughter” Miiko Kaga Tsuzuki of Tokyo, Japan; 7 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held summer of 2021 at Mt. Albion Cemetery, Albion, NY
Donations may be made to: Lakewood Ranch Hospice House www.tidewell.org, Rotary Club International or National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA www.nationalww2museum.org/give.
