Albert Roland Elliott, 98, died July 5, 2010, at Hester Care Center, Wesley Towers, in Hutchinson, Ks.

He was born on March 1, 1912, in Blue Rapids, Ks., to Joseph Harry and Rebecca Alfreda Billingsley Elliott.

A resident of Kansas most of his life, Roland was an educator and school counselor, having earned degrees from Southwestern College and Wichita State University. He taught as Burns, Ks., High School; Northern Oklahoma Community College, Tonkawa; Hutchinson High School; Geneva, Ill., High School; and Southwestern College, Winfield, where he was assistant professor of education and registrar. During World War II, as a member of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, he taught ground school subjects for U.S. Navy flight training programs at Northern Oklahoma Community College. Roland served as president of the Hutchinson Teachers Association and later as president of the Geneva, Ill., Teachers Association and the Hutchinson Area Retired Teachers Association. He was a member of Alpha Kappa Lambda social fraternity as a student at Kansas State College (now Kansas State University) and a member of Pi Gamma Mu honorary social science fraternity.

On August 1, 1936, Roland married Geraldine Lee Ward of Stafford. She died on January 21, 1991. On March 26, 1994, he married Marjorie Bee Gibson of Hutchinson, who died on January 10, 2010.

Survivors include: a son, Gerald T. Elliott and his wife, Alyce Marie, of Overland Park, Ks.; a daughter, Sherrell Ann Varner, of Reston, Va.; a stepdaughter, Cynthia K. Gibson, of Hutchinson; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and a sister, Mrs. Betty Smith, of Huntsville, Texas.

Two brothers, J. Franklin and Samuel H., and a sister, Mrs. Helen Hester, preceded him in death.

Roland was widely known as a thoughtful and patient man with a quick wit and a smile for everyone. He enjoyed music throughout his life, having played cornet in high school and at K-State and, until the time of his passing, adding true, clear tenor harmony to group singing. After retiring from education, he composed poetry and received multiple state and national awards for his writing. He was an active man who enjoyed gardening, began bicycling after retirement, and took great pleasure in leading his children and grandchildren on hiking vacations in the Colorado Rockies. Roland was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and the Together church school class.

Memorials may be sent to Trinity or to the Wesley Towers, Inc., Good Samaritan Fund. Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 8, 2010, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Hutchinson with Reverend Pat Ault-Duell officiating. Burial will follow in the Stafford Cemetery, Stafford, Kansas. Friends may call Wednesday, 1 to 9 p.m. and the family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Elliott Chapel.

Condolences may be left at www.elliottmortuary.com for Roland's family.