Obituary: Roland Straub, 84, of Groton

Roland Straub

• Born: December 21, 1930
• Died: October 07, 2015

Roland Straub of Boston, MA and Groton, CT, died on October 7, 2015. He was born in Boston on December 21, 1930, the son of Josef and Maria Straub of Munich, Germany. He was a 1948 graduate of Boston Technical High School. Roland also attended Boston Architectural Center for two years while being employed by the world-famous architectural firm of Cram and Ferguson, designers of the gothic cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Subsequently, Roland left the field of architecture to pursue a career in shipbuilding at Electric Boat Company. He worked on the SK-1 radar, Peruvian submarines, and the Nautilus, the first atomic submarine.

During Roland’s tenure at EB, he took a leave of absence to serve in the US Army during the Korean conflict. After serving in the US Army, he attended Indiana Institute of Technology, earning a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Returning to EB after graduation, assigned to the Engineering Department, he worked on SSN671, the Narwhal. Nine years later he ventured out to other engineering challenges, including United Aircraft, working on a high speed PBR boat for the Vietnam War, then working for GE as a mechanical field engineer at Millstone Nuclear Power Plant. Upon completion of Millstone, Roland returned to shipbuilding and was employed by Supervisor of Shipbuilding US Navy at EB, working on the Ohio and SSN688 class submarines, retiring in 1993 after attaining the position of Deputy Director of Submarine Safety.

After retirement from his submarine career, he embarked on a culinary venture by completing a one-year training course in cooking, earning a certificate and medal of completion. This training was helpful, as he volunteered as a cook at the Care and Share Soup Kitchen at Pleasant Valley Community of Prayer and Praise Church for a few years.

Another venture saw Roland employed as a substitute teacher at Grasso Tech in the Science Department for a few years, a position which he greatly enjoyed. Roland loved fishing, boating, traveling, cooking, going to Red Sox games with his children at Fenway Park (finally seeing his beloved team win the World Series in 2004), and fixing up his “This Old House.”

He was predeceased by his father Josef, mother Maria, sister Elizabeth, brothers Franz and Richard, and grandson Jason. He is survived by his former spouse of 22-1/2 years, Beatrice Paterson and his significant other of 30 years, Joan Miano, his sons Eric (Johanna) and Brian (Kate), his daughters Elizabeth (Michael) Murphy and Donna Brochu (Mike), eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian buria will be held at Sacred Heart in Groton on Wednesday, October 14, at 10:30 a.m., followed by burial at Colonel Ledyard Cemetery in Groton.

Calling hours will be at Byles-Groton Memorial Home, 310 Thames Street, Groton on Tuesday, October 13th from 4-7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Roland’s memory may be made to the charity of your choice.

Click here to view the obituary on the Byles-Groton Memorial Home website.