Since moving to Dublin in 1959, Rolland “Rollie” Lattanner has seen the town grow from a small village of farmers to the sprawling city it is today and on his 100th birthday, he is still telling the tale.
Against The Odds
Lattanner was born premature in 1923, weighing only three pounds at birth. The doctors told his family to prepare for his inevitable death, but his grandmother refused.
She placed him in a shoe box, covered him in oil and placed him on the oven rack while the fire burned to keep him warm. She kept him there for months, only moving him to feed him. Lattanner was only expected to live a couple of days at most, but because of his grandmother’s resourcefulness, he has lived an entire century.
Young Adulthood
Lattanner grew up in the village of Montpelier near the northwest tip of Ohio. After graduating high school in 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in World War II and the Korean War.
After World War II ended, Lattanner enrolled at Ohio University where he met his wife, Joy. They were married before he left to serve in Korea.
“That was a high point of our life, going to Ohio University, and to me, that was very important,” Lattanner says.
Life in Dublin
After Lattanner graduated from Ohio University’s College of Business in 1949, he and his wife lived in Upper Arlington for 10 years before moving to Dublin, where they raised their three children – Eric, Lori and Lynn.
Lynn says while she was growing up, Dublin was a small village of mostly farmers, much like the town Lattanner grew up in himself.
“I think it was, for my dad, a place where he felt safe,” she says. “He knew it was a good environment to move his family there and to raise his children there.”
Lattanner worked as an accountant at Nationwide Insurance for 39 years while Joy taught at Indian Run Elementary for over 30 years. Even well into his retirement, having a good work ethic is important to him.
“Most people would have a job downtown … they were really the backbone of this small community,” he says.
Lori and Lattanner’s granddaughter, Addie Brown, still reside in the Columbus area, but Lynn and her brother Eric have since moved out of state. Lynn said she was stunned when she returned to Dublin years later and saw the new developments.
“We were just little farm kids, almost like where my daughter lives in Plain City,” Lynn says. “There was nothing in Plain City and now she built a house there and it’s like, boom. Oh my gosh, all these little country places are starting to build up.’”
Getting Involved
Not only did Lattanner and Joy have full-time jobs, they also became well-known in the community for their volunteer efforts.
“He and my mother were one of those couples that you could call and say, ‘Hey, we need someone to do this or do that,’ and they’d always jump right in and participate,” Lynn says.
Lynn says her father has always been a quiet and kind man who was always willing to step up and become a leader when needed.
Lattanner served in many leadership roles throughout his life including becoming Boy Scout Troop 185’s scoutmaster, becoming Grand Master of the Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio, and serving as a deacon at the Linworth United Methodist Church, where he is still a member today. In addition, Lattanner was also heavily involved with Dublin Little League and the Dublin Historical Society.
“Various organizations wanted me to take certain offices there … and it was no problem whatsoever,” he says.
Even with everything he was involved in, Lynn says he was a reliable father who never missed her or her siblings’ sporting events.
“I would look up in the stands and he would be there waving and he never missed our cheerleading events, never, and so he was a dad that was 100% supportive of not only our athletics but our involvement in Dublin,” she says.
The Power of Positivity
Lynn says her father has always taken on life with a smile, giving him his nickname “Jolly Rollie.” Having this positive demeanor kept him mentally healthy and has made him a joy for many to be around.
“He just appreciates life and I think that’s attributed to why he’s lived so long,” she says. “Now sometimes people can get angry or just kind of not happy in life. He’s just had a good attitude.”
Lattanner is physically healthy as well as mentally. He routinely works out and has only been hospitalized once in his life.
“He had both his knees replaced at 88 years old, not because of pain, but because my mother was still living and he wanted to take care of her because she had a bad heart,” Lynn says.
100 Years Later
Lattanner and his beloved Joy were married for more than 60 years. She passed away at age 84 in 2012.
Lattanner currently resides in Dublin Retirement Village where, no surprise to Lynn, he is a favorite resident of the staff.
“He was just a happy, nice guy and that’s how he is now at the retirement village,” she says.
“That’s probably one of the biggest things is my dad is very appreciative. He appreciates what people do and he’s done a lot for other people too.”
Lynn, now 62, says she still often thinks of her father’s words and encouragement he would tell her as a young girl to help her through hard times.
“No matter what age, I always think my dad will say to me, ‘Lynny, this too shall pass,’” she says.
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an assistant editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
