Roland B. Stotter, 86, US Army Veteran

He was born on June 3, 1916 in Cleveland Ohio and lived in Cleveland and Kansas City, Kansas before moving to Avon Lake in 1959.

Mr. Stotter graduated from Glenville High School (Cleveland) in 1934 and graduated from the Ohio State University in 1947 with a degree in Pharmacy.

Mr. Stotter volunteered from the United States Army in April 1941, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the Army as a private and received a direct commission to the rank of Second Lieutenant in Belgium in February 1945.

Mr. Stotter served with the 77th Evacuation Hospital throughout the War and was in the invasion of North Africa ("Operation Torch"). He also served in the European, African and Middle Eastern Theaters of Operation and earned six battle stars. He was also wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart.

Mr. Stotter met his Wife Marjorie (nee Hart) in 1942 in North Africa when she joined the 77th Evacuation Hospital as a Nurse. They were married from 1946 until Mrs. Stotter's passing in 1999.

In 1959 Mr. Stotter and a partner bought the Avon Lake Drugs, in the Lake Road Shopping Center. He was a pharmacist at the Avon Lake Drug Store from 1959 until 1989 when he sold the store. He was very active in Avon Lake where he served as: President and member of the Avon Lake Board of Education, President of the Avon Lake Businessmen's Association and President of Avon Lake Kiwanis. He was Avon Lake "Man of the Year" in 1963. Last year he received the George F. Hixson Fellowship Award from Kiwanis.

A life long American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln enthusiast and student, Mr. Stotter gave presentations on those subjects to civic and school groups. He also appeared on local television talks about those topics. Mr. Stotter also gave talks about Judaism.

Mr. Stotter is survived by his daughter Dr. Mary Linda Cuddy (Dr. Stephen Cuddy) of Ft. Wayne Indiana and his son Robert Hart Stotter (Ellen Stotter) of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Mr. Stotter is also survived by 5 grandchildren, Matthew, William and Elizabeth Stotter and Kevin and Ryan Cuddy.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, November 21 at 11:00 a.m. at the Busch-Burmeister Family Chapel at 32000 Detroit Rd., Avon, Ohio 44011. The family requests in lieu of flowers those memorial contributions are made to the Cleveland Sight Center.