Obituary of Roland James Barlow

Roland Barlow, 84, passed away on Friday September 13, 2013, from a heart attack, at home in the company of his son Dane and daughter Nina. Roland is survived by his wife Helen Barlow, five children, four grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Roland was a mechanical engineer alumni from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the Chief Engineer at Cadillac Gauge in Roseville, Michigan, for over 30 years. He was also a WWII veteran who served in Korea in 1947 at age 18. After the war, he helped pay for his college room and board by working long hours during the summer in the iron mines of his home town of Lyon Mountain in upstate New York. Roland and Helen married in New Jersey in January 1953 and moved to Detroit in 1956. They bought a house in Madison Heights, Michigan, and raised their family there for the next 50 years. Roland traveled for business and treated his family to terrific slide shows after every trip. He was also a serious audiophile and recorded the numerous concerts and performances of his musical children, sharing the tapes of the shows with conductors, teachers and parents. In 2006 Roland and Helen moved into the Fox Run retirement community in Novi, Michigan, where Helen continues to reside. Roland was a cameraman for the Fox Run TV station from 2007 - 2011 and enjoyed shooting in-studio and on-location events for the Fox Run community. He also served as Movie Night projectionist during that time, showing 2-3 films a month. All who knew Roland, found him to be an intelligent, quiet, and thoughtful man, who was always proud of his hard work and preparation, from which was we all benefitted greatly. Memorial Service: Saturday, October 12, 2013, at 2pm Fox Run Community 41150 Fox Run Road Novi, MI 48377 The party will be held in the Belmont Club House, the Derby Room in the lower level Light refreshments will be served with lots of stories and love. The family contact is daughter Nina Barlow at nina@ninabarlow.com.