Obituary of Roland Dennis Witcher

Roland peacefully passed away on November 30, 2023 with his loved ones by his side. He was the son of his late parents, Silas and Edna Witcher. Roland was born September 23, 1948 in Twillingate, Newfoundland. However, Baytona, Newfoundland is where he spent most of his childhood in between attending the MacKay School for the Deaf in Montreal, and the Interprovincial School for the Deaf in Amherst, Nova Scotia. He then went to college in St John’s, Newfoundland to take Commercial Arts. After moving back to Montreal, he married his love and schoolmate, Maria. They moved to Nova Scotia and had 2 children together. He started his passionate career as a commercial graphic artist and worked for Eagles & Radcliffe/daynite for most of his 48 year career. During Roland’s time with us, he enjoyed activities with his many friends which included broomball with the “Flying Fingers”, slo-pitch, bowling, curling, hunting, but most of all, darts for which he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He was known for the many trophies he has acquired over the years. He even tried his hand at entrepreneurship by opening his store, “Rolands Grocery” on Queen Street in Dartmouth. Always with a Tim Hortons coffee in hand, Roland loved spending his retired days with his close friends at Tim Hortons where they’d catch up, play cards, share laughs and stories. He was known for his sweet smile, and fun-loving nature. He always took any opportunity to play a joke on someone to make them smile. Most of all, he was a loving Poppy and father who enjoyed spending time with his family. Left to mourn with loving memories, his children, Dennis (Debrah), Vanna, Vicki, and Valerie, his 4 granddaughters, Jenna, Vanna, Brianna, and Sophia, his brothers Ross and David, his sisters Yvonne, Lily, and Cavell, as well as several nieces, and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife Maria, his parents Silas and Edna, his sister Shirley, and his brothers Eugene, Barry, and Dennis. Cremation has taken place and there will be a small service for family at a later date. A celebration of life will be held for his close friends at the Parkside Pub & Smokehouse where he frequented often with them, on December 10th from 2-4pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Roland’s memory can be made to Society of Deaf & Hard of Hearing Nova Scotians. A special thanks to his favorite nurse Jason, and his caring doctor, Dr. Ednie at the VG hospital.