Roland “Rollie” Spaniol, age 86, went to his Heavenly Home on Feb. 7, 2018.
Rollie & his wife Lois moved their family to Charleston in 1960. After retiring from teaching at Eastern Illinois University in 1989, he became active in a number of conservation organizations including the Walnut Council, Quail Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, the Arbor Day Foundation, Lincoln Heritage RC&D, Embarras River Management Association, and the Coles Co. SWCD where he served for over a decade as a Board Member and Chairman. He also founded an e-recycling program that was active in Coles County and surrounding areas for many years.
Over the years, he and his family planted nearly 100 acres of trees on their farm. Rollie and Lois were recog-nized as Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in 2004 for their efforts. They also hosted many workshops, tours, and meetings on their farm.
Rollie will be remembered as a devoted husband, and a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He touched the lives of many and strived to leave the earth a better place. A memorial ser-vice honoring and celebrating his life will be scheduled at a later date. Thoughtful donations in his honor may be made to the Coles County SWCD Foundation scholarship program.