I started doing what Emily has undertaken long ago (1995) in order to at least know who my cousins were and will share what I collected at that time. Others PLEASE fill in and/or make corrections.
LOUIS & ODELIA SCHISTEL ROLINGER: (Picture was taken in 1948 at "Pa's last run" on the railroad) Will start with my grandparents - Louis E. & Odile A. Schistel Rolinger are as far back as I remember. They had 9 children and I know their names and think I have them in correct order of birth. Louis was the oldest, Margie, Doll (Elizabeth), Emma (Sister Amadeus), Clarey (Claremont), Tom (Thomas), Trona (Petrona), George and Babe (Odile). I know G&G Rolinger were from Chicago area but I always knew them living in Freeport, Illinois. Gpa was an engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad and always let Gma take the lead in any conversation. Gma was a fun loving lady with lots of beautiful wavy, white hair, baked wonderful things, had squeaky seats on her dining room chairs, collected teacups and their telephone was a crank one (party line you know) that hung on the wall in the hall. She always had a hug, a giggle and some home baked goodie for us. They lived across the street from St. Vincent's orphanage and old folks home and Gma rarely missed 6 a.m. Mass over there. Frequently one of the "old folks" would "escape" and come to visit Gma. She always treated them like a guest until the staff came to escort them back "home" (Gma had secretly called the staff for an escort). Am sure everyone who knew my G&G Rolinger will have their own memories to add. They both lived into their 90's and their last years spent at St. Vincent's right across the street from their home!
LOUIS ROLINGER (oldest child) was married to Edna. He was a professional boxer for many years and was the originator of the Rolinger restaurant in Waterloo, Iowa. They had three children: Joan, Jack & Russell. JOAN I think still lives in Iowa City, Iowa and has two children Christopher & Janae. JACK is married to Jonella and lives in Arizona. Their daughter is Carmen Carr Shudde who has a son and his name escapes me, sorry buddy! RUSSELL is married to Jean Stephenson Rolinger and lives in Waterloo, Iowa. Russ took over the Rolinger restaurant until it closed. Russ & Jean have four children. MARK is a lawyer in Waterloo, married to Lisa and last I knew had two daughters, Abigail & Allison; CAMI is married to Steve Smalley and they have Meredith, Elizabeth and Benjamin the last I knew; SUSAN is married to Bradley Hagerty and I believe lives in the Des Moines, Iowa area. Their children are Caitlyn, Hannah & Madeline; and MATTHEW is Russ & Jean's youngest. I believe he still lives & works in Waterloo area and is the handsomest young man I've met in ages!
MARGIE ROLINGER: Second child died at 3 years of age.
ELIZABETH (DOLL) ROLINGER: Third child died at 5 years of age. I think Emma told me both of these girls died around the same time.
EMMA (SISTER AMADEUS) ROLINGER: Fourth child was a Sister of Providence. Taught school for many years and retired to St. Mary of the Woods mother house in Terre Haute, Indiana, where she was in charge of the Stamp Room. The sisters would remove stamps from envelopes and sell them to make money for the order. Emma had a vast stamp collection that she "gave away" one day. I asked her why she gave it away and she said "did you ever see a U-haul behind a hearse?" She was a beautiful, tiny lady who was full of wit, wisdom and grace and I am honored to have been able to spend time with her. She passed away in 2005 and is buried at St. Mary of the Woods near her aunt, Sister St. Pierre, who was Gma Rolinger's sister. If you have a chance to visit the "Woods" do, it's a beautful place!
CLAREY (CLAREMONT) ROLINGER: Fifth Child was married to Adeline, owned a plane at 15 and was doing parachute jumps. They had sons Jim and Jack and a daughter Carla Kay Atkins. JIM lives in Oklahoma, is married to Patricia Roe Rolinger and they have Jill, Steven and Kim. I am not positive the rest is current but will do my best....JILL is married to Wes Hinkston and they have an adopted daughter Jerusha Rhodes. STEVEN was married to Jo Ann Kaufman and they had a daughter Tammy (see Tammy Ricketts below). I believe Steve lives in South Dakota and lists Ashlee Rolinger and Briann Pitts as daughters along with Tammy. KIM is married to Gary Rehl, lives in Spring, TX and has three children, Sara, Emily & Gary, Jr. TAMMY, Steve's daughter, has a son Marques Rolinger, is married to Joshua Ricketts, they have two boys - Josh & Isaiah - and live at Ft. Campbell, KY. JACK is married to Mary Shea, lives in Phoenix area and they have four children: MARK married to Terri Hancock with children KRISTEN Rolinger (Married to Chris "Honey" Self, is a fantastic photographer with 3 kids - Jaylan, Olivia & Liam); Stefanie and Jessica; DAVID is single and lives in Phoenix; TOM Rolinger is married to Julie Reid and has 2 children Tarah recently married to Chris Clark and Tanner. CARLA KAY is married to Jim Atkins and lives in Phoenix. They have two sons, Chris (dec.) and Scott who is married to Dawn, grandson J.C.
OK I'm only half done and it's pretty obvious the Rolinger's are a prolific bunch!
THOMAS (TOM) ROLINGER: Sixth child is my Godfather. He was married to Theresa and I believe they had seven children, Emily will need to fill in this part for me. I think the kids names were Theresa, Rosemary, Odile, Jack, Sister Pat, Tom, Jerry. HELP ME EMILY!
PETRONA (TRONA) ROLINGER BUTERBAUGH: Seventh child. Trona was married to Paul Buterbaugh and they had two daughters. JACKIE lives in Orangeville, IL, teaches school in Freeport and is married to Wayne Yeoman. They have Alan, Carol, Mike and Karen; MARGIE is married to Jim Kernan and I think still lives in California.
GEORGE ROLINGER: Eighth child, is my Dad and the only surviving sibling. He lives in Tucson and turned 90 last summer. Very handsome guy if I do say so, in fact all nine of the Rolinger kids were very good looking and most of the men served our country in the Navy! My Dad was married Eleanore Bordner who is deceased. I am the oldest of their kids, married to Harvey Miller, live in Cedar Rapids IA and am getting old! We have three children: BRAD lives & drives a bus in Las Vegas and is a single dad to Lani (3); COURTNEY (Corky) lives in Houston area, is a grade school principal and married to Greg Merilatt. They have Shea (15) and Cody (12); our youngest is NICKI who lives in Decorah IA, is an optician and married to Paul Lillegraven. They have McKinley (12) and Andy (11 next week). TERRY is my brother who lives in Nogales and is a Customs Agent. He is married to Gail and they have a son Tosh, daughter Crystal and a son Troy who is deceased. My youngest brother is CRAIG, lives in East Moline IL, and is married to Nancy.
ODILE (BABE) ROLINGER COBLE: Was the ninth and youngest child. She lived in Freeport, IL, was married to Bill Coble. They had a son JOHN who is married to Fanny. They have two daughters and live in Gahanna OH.
