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Roland Radford Johnsrud ’34

Roland Radford Johnsrud ’34, August 2, 2012, in Santa Rosa, California, at age 99, from complications resulting from a fall. Roland spent his early years in Portland and in Grants Pass, Oregon, and earned a BA from Reed in political science, writing his thesis on “Administrative Justice and the Courts of Law” with Professor Charles McKinley [political science 1918–60]. After Reed, he enrolled at the University of Oregon, where he studied law and public administration before working in personnel administration with the city of Portland, the U.S. Treasury, and the Bonneville Power Administration. In 1940, he married Martha E. Maize, a native of Willits, California. They reunited in Willits following his service in the naval reserve during World War II. For nine years Roland worked in the family business, E.H. Maize and Sons, providing services in real estate, insurance, and building material sales. In 1956 he realized his dream of publishing a newspaper when he purchased two weeklies, the Lakeport Press and Record and the Lakeport County Bee. He merged the papers into one daily, the Lake County Record Bee, which he managed for 25 years. Roland was president of the board of directors for Lakeside Community Hospital and president of Rotary clubs in Willits and Lakeport. He served on the planning commission for Willits and the board of directors for the Carnegie Library in Lakeport. He also enjoyed fishing and boating, “weekend farming,” and golfing. Roland kept a connection to Oregon, where he had a summer cabin, and chose Oregon as the setting for a short story he wrote in retirement. In 2001 Roland and Martha moved to Santa Rosa to be nearer to family; Martha died in 2011. “He remained independent, sharp-minded, dry-witted, and tuned into the events of the day, especially sports, until shortly before his death.” Survivors include two daughters and one son.

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2012