Rolland Edward Boe

Rolland Edward Boe was born in North Dakota on January 18, 1934, and died of natural causes at age 89 in his home on November 11, 2023.

Rolland enlisted in the Air Force in the mid-1950s and was stationed at a remote radar station in the territory of Alaska above the Arctic Circle. Upon discharge he attended the University of Montana where he majored in history and graduated with a master’s degree in education. He was a fraternity member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Montana Beta Chapter.

He taught high school in Spokane, Washington and then accepted President Kennedy’s challenge and joined the Peace Corps, training at the University of Washington. In 1962, he was among one of the first classes of Peace Corps volunteers in Thailand near the Isthmus of Kra in Prachuab, where he taught English as a foreign language and introduced basketball to his students. He wrote to his mother asking her to send him his students’ white high top basketball socks.

After teaching high school in Great Falls for several years, he retired, purchased a long-haul truck and embraced the journey.

Rolland’s wife and best friend, Barbara Kessner Boe passed away in 2014.

He is survived by three sisters, LaVonne Knox in Billings, Anita Oller in Longview, Washington and Shirley Krein in Woodbridge, Virginia; his friend and Barbara’s Aunt Verna, has been a blessing in his life.

May he rest in peace.