Walter James Roman

Walter James Roman II, of Midland, formerly of Rochester Hills and Harrisville, passed away peacefully on April 26th, 2022 at Storypoint Place, Independence Village, Midland, Michigan. He was born in Detroit on April 28th, 1931 to Walter James I and Anna (Jaworski) Roman, and raised in Hazel Park Michigan. He loved his hometown and was heavily involved in sports at Hazel Park High School. He was the only person in his graduating class who played 3 sports (baseball, basketball, and football). He also was a proud member of the boy scouts and earned the Eagle Scout award. As a young man he also enjoyed speed skating and a good game of pool. After high school he went to a local community college for two years, and then finished his last two years of post graduate school at Alma College. He was President of his fraternity Phi Phi Alpha, and graduated in June of 1953 with a B.S. in secondary education and a major in history. He immediately joined the army and spent 2 years in service to his country. Following an honorable discharge from the army, he taught middle school for a few years, and then had the opportunity to take a job at General Motors Corporation in personnel as Manager of Aid to Education. On August 2, 1958, he married Priscilla Jean Hickey, the love of his life. Children followed quickly. He dearly loved his family and made a priority of spending as much time as possible with his wife and kids. He worked at General Motors for the next 30 plus years until he retired around age 60. A former member of Saint Irenaeus Catholic Church in Rochester Hills, Michigan, he served on the Parish Council, acted as a church lector, taught religious education classes, worked at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and was part of the Helping Hands group. He was always interested in giving support to kids who struggled with economic disadvantages because of his own financial difficulties as a child. Two other organizations he was involved in during this part of his life that worked to support young people in this way were Cranbrook Horizons Upward Bound and DAPCEP. After the couple moved to Harrisville in 2002, he became a member of Saint Anne's Catholic Church. He lovingly cared for his wife after retirement as she struggled with several chronic illnesses. Following Priscilla’s death in 2008, he spent close to a decade working with the Hazel Park Promise - another program that provided funds for disadvantaged teens and young adults to help them attend college and earn an associates degree. Along with spending time with his family, Walt loved to cook (creating many wonderful dishes like his famous eggplant lasagna), golf (he was on the golf team in college), read, and care for his beautiful homestead on Lake Huron. Walter is survived by his children; Kelly L. (Eric) Krause (Sanford, MI), W. James III (Sara) Roman (Troy, MI), Katherine P. (Paul) Hogan (Ridgewood, NJ) Colleen J. (Paul) Morgan (Kalamazoo, MI) and Father Thomas J. Roman (Lancaster, NY). He was the proud grandfather of fifteen grandchildren, Christopher, Brandon, and Dominic Krause, Kelen, Brenden, and Kaitlyn Roman, Caroline, Dylan and Taylor Hogan, Sean, Erin, Robert, James, Abbigail, and Joseph Morgan. He was predeceased by his wife Priscilla and sister Anna Roman. Mr. Roman is at Gillies Funeral Home in Harrisville where visitation will take place on Friday, May 6th, from 4 - 8 p.m., with a Rosary Service at 7 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be on Saturday, May 7th, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church. The Rev. Thomas Roman will officiate. Burial will be in St. Anne Catholic Cemetery and attendees are invited to join the family for a luncheon at Ausable Inn, Oscoda: https://g.co/kgs/cVXA7S immediately following services at the cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to The Hazel Park Promise: http://hazelparkpromise.org/donate.html To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Walter James Roman, please visit our flower store.