Obituary of Carol Roland

Jean Carol Roland, née Ingledew, 84, a longtime resident of Florence and Walton, Ky., died on June 7, 2024, in Lexington, Ky., of a pulmonary embolism. 

Born on April 16, 1940, Carol, as she was known, grew up in New Castle, Va., where she was one of five children raised by her mother, Ruby Crawford Ingledew. Her father, Lorenzo George Ingledew, died when she was 3. Carol revered her mother’s ability to overcome adversity and raise five children by herself. The independence and strong will she saw in her mother would inspire much of Carol’s life.

Upon graduating from New Castle High School in 1958, she traveled to Kentucky to attend Berea College, earning her bachelor's degree in home economics. A proud Berea alumna, Carol became the first in her family to attend and graduate from a four-year college.

After completing her degree, in 1962, Carol moved to Walton, Ky., to take her first teaching assignment. Word spread that there was a new teacher at the high school. She was smart, pretty and single, people said. One of the cafeteria ladies, Myrtle Hammond, shared the news with her son, who was the same age as Walton’s recent arrival — and that’s how Carol met Gene Dale Roland. He had to cancel their first date because he got sick, but when Gene and Carol finally did meet up, they went bowling. The next year, they got married. Their union lasted a remarkable 60 years. Together they had one son, Marc Roland of Lexington.

Carol started her career teaching home economics and biology, while also serving as sponsor of the cheerleading squad and Future Homemakers of America and Beta Club chapters. Later, she ran a private kindergarten at a time when kindergarten was not part of the mandatory statewide curriculum. She taught for three decades in public and private schools, managing to teach every grade from preschool to 12th grade, a feat she was proud of. Along the way, she earned her master’s degree and Rank I.

It is an understatement to say Carol was devoted to teaching. She would get up early and go to bed late preparing for her students, and she was always in her classroom well before the first bell rang and long after the students had gone home. For decades she taught students, then siblings of those students, and later, the children of those students at Walton-Verona Independent Schools and Blessed Sacrament School in Northern Kentucky. After retiring, she frequently passed along her old textbooks, workbooks and teaching materials to her only grandchild, Piper Roland-Shive of Lexington, hoping to inspire a love of learning and school.

Even as dementia took hold, Carol never forgot she was a teacher — a testament to the indelible love she had for her lifelong profession. She adored her students, and her students adored her. On a Facebook post announcing her death in a Walton-Verona High School alumni group, past students said of Carol: “My favorite teacher of all time”; “She is the reason why I became a teacher”; “Great person! She was my kindergarten teacher and my son’s”; “The world was a better place because of her”; and “She was so kind and so very patient. I think my love of learning started with her influence so many years ago!” Had Carol seen these posts before her death and before dementia robbed her of her memories, she probably would have easily recognized who had posted the comments and been able to tell a story about each one.

Beyond her teaching, Carol was a master seamstress and loved crafting, gardening, traveling, shopping and reading. She was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Florence, Ky., where she served as a lay reader for many years. After she and Gene, who also suffers from dementia, moved into an assisted living facility in Lexington in 2022, Carol was known as a social butterfly who even until a few months before her death enjoyed helping other residents, playing games and, of course, crafting. In the last months of her life, she, with Gene, got to witness the total eclipse of the sun on April 8, a cosmic event that millions marveled at. What did Carol think? She said she wasn’t impressed — but she probably had an idea for using the event in a science lesson.

Jean Carol Ingledew Roland was a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, teacher, or just the nice lady who cooked, sewed and lived on Service Road in Walton; then Heritage Drive in Florence. Most of all, though, she was a woman who will be remembered by the hundreds, if not thousands, of lives that she crossed paths with in her 84 years. 

In addition to her husband, Gene; son, Marc; and granddaughter, Piper, Carol is survived by a host of  nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, friends, neighbors, former colleagues and students. She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters, a brother and two half-sisters.

Visitation will be at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, 45 N. Main St. Walton, KY 41094 on Thursday, June 13, 2024, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. A private graveside service will follow visitation.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Carol’s memory to Berea College by clicking here or the Alzheimer’s Association by clicking here.