Roland Nissley

Roland Nissley entered the great beyond on July 27, 2021 in Litchfield Park, AZ after a life well lived and enjoyed. He had a joke for every occasion and a vast repertoire of puns, which were referred to by his family as ‘groaners.’ He was a jazz, classical music and theater aficionado, loved animals, watching football, WW2 history, chocolate, polka dancing and craft beer. Until the very end he would always respond to a “How are you?’ with, “If I was any better, I couldn’t stand it.”

Roland was born in Manheim, PA on July 1, 1932 and married the love of his life (his words) Joyce (Lamparter) Nissley in 1964. He would always say “We’ve been married for 57 years, and that’s a record for me!”

In addition to Joyce, he is survived by his daughter, Jeanne Nissley Smith (Patricia Mitchell), his granddaughters, Angela Barr (Thomas) Alexis Consalvo (Christopher), His great grandchildren, Averie Ross, Isabelle Barr, Noah Consalvo, Nicholas Barr, his great-great grandchildren Raelynn, Jaxon, Anthony, Gino and Lia Bella and his two beloved felines, Alfie and Sofie. He was preceded by his parents Roy and Katherine Nissley, and his sisters Nancy Hossler (Ken) and Pauline Joseph (Walt).

Roland served in the Air Force, and was a Korean War Vet. He was thrilled to participate in the Honor Flight program to Washington DC to view the Korean War Memorial in 2018.

Roland was a registered Architect and an early adopter of AutoCAD. He attended the Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota FL and started his architectural career as a draftsman. He took his architectural license exam in 1972 and passed with flying colors. He went independent in 1976 and was self-employed until he retired at the age of 82. He absolutely loved what he did and after he retired, he’d tell people, “I’m a retired architect with no plans for tomorrow.”

Roland loved Mt. Gretna, PA where he and Joyce lived for 43 years in a home of his own design. He was an involved member of the community; he led the architectural historical restoration of the Mt. Gretna Post Office, conducted walking tours based on vintage postcards, served on the Board of Music at Gretna and Jazz at Gretna, sang in the choir at the Mt. Gretna UMC, and loved spending summer afternoons with his friends, the ‘beach bums,’ at Mt. Gretna Lake.

He and Joyce moved to Phoenix, AZ in 2015 to be near his daughter and extended family where they became involved with the Phoenix Art & Heard Museums and the Music Hour singing group.

On August 17, 2021 at 9:00 am, after a brief military honors and personal remembrance ceremony, Roland’s ashes will be interred at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N Cave Creek Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85024. His Arizona friends and family are invited to attend the ceremony and for coffee and pastries afterward at Janey’s Coffee Company & Bodega, 6602 E Cave Creek Rd, Cave Creek AZ 85331.