Samuel Milton Rollinson, 1928-1997

We say "Goodbye" to Grandpa

It is obvious that Sam had no part in writing the following. He never talked about himself. He would talk at great lengths about his sons and their accomplishments and their antics when they were growing up. ...And he would talk about the mill, the tonnage and the people, but not about himself.

Sam finished at the Institute of Paper Chemistry in 1954 and was awarded the Westbrook Steele Medal of Achievement. His first mill was in St. Marys, Georgia where the oldtimers still have memories of him. He went next to Georgia Kraft and the Rome, Georgia mill. From Georgia Kraft Sam joined Potlatch Corporation and worked to design and build the mill at McGehee, Arkansas. He took great pride that it was the first greenfield mill that made saleable paper from the first day of production. Kimberly-Clark was his last employer, and he liked Coosa Pines, Alabama so much that this was where he chose to retire. From his first job Sam was listed as salaried, but his greatest pleasure was in his work with the operators and maintenance people--the ones who made it all happen. He is known through the southeast as Dr. Sam and Mr. Sam and always called himself Sam.

His five sons were his greatest joy. He relished his visits with Lon, who attended Caltech. Every trip to the West Coast meant a stop in Pasadena. Martin, who attended the Military Academy at West Point, despite initial opposition from his father, turned his dad into one of the Academy's biggest supporters. All of the family can still hear Sam explaining to Martin that he would be a real misfit since he had never learned to take orders. Martin's instant rejoinder was that was why he wanted to go--he planned to give them! Matthew was closest to his dad's heart in his choice of school and discipline. It was a major time in Sam's life as he drove a son to the school he had attended--Georgia Tech. Selby, Sam's fourth son, also attended the Academy, and as Selby also did well in his assignments, Sam kept copies of his evaluations and read and reread them. Jim was number five, and Jim chose Rice University and is now working in Houston. A favorite story is that Selby once told Jim, in his dad's hearing, that "Dad and Mom had only planned to have four children." Sam, who was buried in a newspaper, leaned around the paper and said, "No, Selby, your mother and I thought three was quite enough!" If you knew Sam, you knew he loved tell what he called yarns about his family.

With five sons came four daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren--all of whom could bend Grandpa to their every whim. Sam always felt himself truly blessed.

Sam would wish each of you well--those of you from mill environments he would expect to increase the tonnage, reduce the rejects, and coil the hoses.

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