Obituary of Sidney Rowland

Robert Sidney Rowland, 86, a soft-spoken gentle man, passed away on September 24, 2008 at Mercer Medical Center. He was the son of Sidney Archie and Margaret Lois Drake Rowland and after being born in Schenectady, New York, grew up in Delaware, Ohio where his father was on the faculty of Ohio Wesleyan University. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan F. Rowland, his two sons and five grandchildren, Edward and Amy Rowland, granddaughters Lainie, Helene and Audrey of Madison, NJ and Steven and Karen Rowland and grandchildren Sam and Molly of Chatham, NJ., and his two brothers and their families, F. Sherwood and Joan Rowland of Corona del Mar, CA. and Richard and LaVerne Rowland of Elk Grove, CA Sid Rowland was an accomplished student and at the age of 13 recorded a perfect score on the State of Ohio All Pupil Latin Exam. Rowland's mother had been a Latin teacher prior to becoming a homemaker. Sid Rowland subsequently graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Ohio Wesleyan in 1942 with a degree in Mathematics. One of his early dreams of attending the Oriental institute at the University of Chicago was dashed by World War II. Early on he could amaze his childhood friends by reciting the reigns of the Egyptian Pharaohs for centuries. He received a full scholarship to attend the Institute on the Wednesday before the attack on Pearl Harbor and post-War was not able to pursue that course. Rowland later completed an M.A. from the Ohio State School of Journalism where he met his future wife, Joan Friedman, as she was completing her B.S. After a brief, early news casting career with the original CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio the young couple moved to New York City as Rowland initially pursued a writing career. One of his stories, The McGregor Affair, appeared on the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Hour in 1964. In the early 1950s the couple moved to the Lawrenceville area and has been residents of Lawrence Township since 1957. Rowland then began a long successful career in Market Research first with the Gallup Organization in Princeton, NJ and later with R.H. Bruskin Associates in New Brunswick, NJ. Rowland was very active in being a father to his two sons ranging from coaching basketball to Cub Scouts and later Boy Scout Troop 28 as the Committee Chairman. He was also a poet of local note and published 10 books of poetry starting in 1980. He was very active in the Delaware Valley Poetry Society and served as President or Treasurer for many years. His poems are quite whimsical in nature but usually end with an unexpected and humorous twist. In 2001 the family hosted a celebration for the couples 50th Anniversary. Instead of gifts, attendees tried their hand at poetry with wonderful and quite humorous results. The funeral will be held on Sunday at 1 PM at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, Lawrenceville. Burial will follow in the Princeton Cemetery. There will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Delaware Valley Poetry, Inc., P.O. Box 5362, Trenton, New Jersey 08638 or to a charity of your choice.