Rolland Jamison

Rolland Jamison, 92, of Winterset, died Friday, December 15, 2017, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. A visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 19th at Ochiltree Funeral Service, with family present to receive friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. A funeral service will begin at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 20th at Ochiltree Funeral Services in Winterset with burial to follow in the Winterset Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the Winterset United Methodist Church and online condolences can be left at ochiltree.com. Rolland William Jamison, son of Paul and Edith Robinson Jamison, was born April 19, 1925, in Winterset. He was the oldest of the five children born to this union. He received his elementary education in a one room rural school in Madison County and graduated from Winterset High School in 1942. He attended Iowa State College majoring in Industrial Engineering. He also attended Drake University and Augustana College. Rolland was united in marriage with his high school classmate, Carolyn Marjorie Wilson on May 5, 1946 at the First United Methodist Church in Winterset. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry for two and one-half years, most of which was in the European Theater of Operation during World War II, landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy shortly after “D” Day in June 1944 and ending on “VE” Day in May 1945. One event most recalled was his visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp immediately after liberation, an experience he recounted in his memoirs. An assignment served prior to his return was as Secretary to the Commanding General of the 79th Infantry Division. Military decoration include the Bronze Star Medal. He received an Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army in December of 1945 with an enlisted man’s rank of Sergeant. Nearly all of his adult working career was spent with the John Deere Company, starting in 1947 and retiring in 1982, a total of 34 years. His work during most of this period was in Industrial Engineering management positions in factories located in Iowa and Illinois. One of his later positions served was as Manager of Manufacturing and Plant Engineering in a factory located in Moline, Illinois at the time it became the nucleus of the Industrial Equipment Division of Deere & Company. Prior to retirement he served as Manager of Value Analysis for factories in the Industrial Equipment Division. This work, a cost improvement program, led to the development of similar programs throughout all of the John Deere factory operations. Results of this work became known throughout the industry and much of his time was spent in presentations at seminars and conferences throughout the U.S. Rolland is survived by a daughter, Brenda (Ross) Gilstrap of Arizona; a brother, Leo Mack Jamison of Winterset; a sister, Eva Marie Jamison Short of Winterset; three grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and special friend, Helen Jackson. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Carolyn; a son, David Jamison; a brother, Robert Jamison; and a sister, Shirley Jamison.