Roland W. Davis

Roland W. Davis was born January 7th, in the year of our Lord 1935, in Roslyn, New York,  He was the beloved son of the late Charles H. and Myrtle A. Davis. He was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, June 12, 2022.

Roland attended and graduated from Manhasset High School.  He was a dedicated and determined worker, at times, working three (3) jobs concurrently. He was employed by the United States Postal Service and also worked as a sanitation worker to meet his responsibilities. However, his longest and most dedicated service was at the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO). At LILCO, Roland started from the ground – literally, and worked his way up. He began digging holes for gas and power lines. At the time of Roland’s retirement, after 25 years of dedicated and acknowledged service, he was Supervisor of teams of workers, laying gas lines throughout Long Island. Even as Supervisor, he would not hesitate to jump back into those holes to show how it’s supposed to be done. Roland would often say that a lot of crews would procrastinate in getting their work orders complete, however he would say, “if you know what you’re doing, do it right and move on to the next”.

Later in life, Roland received a second chance at love when he met Priscilla, or as she was affectionately known as “Pat” by most, but to Roland, she was known as “My Girl.” They met at Pat’s family reunion, where Roland described it as a “love at first sight” experience. After they wed, they moved to Hempstead, New York. However, in 1993, they put New York in their rear-view mirror and moved to where the weather was warmer – Columbia, South Carolina.

Once the family relocated to South Carolina, Roland and Pat found another love – the Bluff Road United Methodist Church and its members, all of which became their extended family. Roland was involved in the church, even driving the church bus to pick up others who shared their love for Christ. Roland was also awarded “Man of the Year” for exemplifying excellence in service, commitment and devotion to God, his Church, and Community.

Roland was exceptionally good with his hands and loved fixing things. Roland was the epitome of the DIY’er (Do-it-yourselfer), making repairs around the house that both he and Pat loved. Roland enjoyed cooking and was an avid listener of jazz music. His favorite Sirius XM Satellite Radio station was Watercolors. Even later in life, Roland discovered a new passion – watching Westerns, or as he used to call them, “Shoot-em-ups,” on TV. Roland was also a compassionate man. After recovering from a heart ailment, he served as a volunteer at the hospital, giving back to others what was shared with him.

His love for people was on display near the very end of his life. When his family and friends visited him in the hospital, the nurses would say how much they enjoyed taking care of him. They would jokingly say, they had adopted him as their “grandfather,”

Roland was also preceded in death by his siblings, Charles Jr., Roy, Marion, Joan, Maude; the mother of his children, Hilda; his stepdaughter, Donna Casey Bullock, and his beloved “My Girl” Priscilla who passed away on January 4, 2022.

Those who will forever cherish Roland’s memories are his sons, Keith of New York, Barry of Florida, Darrell of New York, and Jeffrey of South Carolina; his sisters, Myrtle Boyd, Carol Penalver and Geraldine Davis, all of New York; his daughters-in-law, Donna of New York, Alicia of Florida, and Bobbi of New York; his sister-in-law, Anna James of New York; his adoring grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. And we cannot forget to mention, his unofficially adopted daughter, Constance Nelson Barnes of South Carolina.

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