Roll Call Tribute

Joseph G. "Joe" Rollins, Jr. '38, 90, of Boulder, Colo., died Nov. 2, 2008. He received a law degree from Southern Methodist School of Law in 1941. He was a lieutenant commander and commanding officer of the minesweeper USS Curlew AM 69 in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he practiced law. He practiced in Grayson County for 11 years, then was assistant attorney general in Austin, and in Houston from 1961 as senior assistant city attorney until he retired in 1979 as chief of the litigation section of the city legal department. He was then "of counsel" with Olson & Olson until his death. He was certified in civil trial law and personal injury trial law and wrote on the subject of eminent domain. In 1970, he wrote Aggies, Y'All Caught That Dam 'Ol' Rat Yet? in which he described with humor the trials and tribulations of Aggie "fish" in his day. He took a sabbatical in 1985 and attended the Universidad de Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain, where he earned a Diploma de la Lengua y Cultura Espanola (with highest honors). He was a Class Agent for the Class of '38 for about 10 years. He moved from Houston to Boulder in 2004. Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Skippy; a son; two daughters; and two grandchildren.