Obituary of Timothy James Roels, Sr.

Timothy James Roels, Sr., passed away peacefully September 18, 2017. 

Mass of Christian Burial: 11:00 a.m., Saturday, September 23, 2017 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 6150 Pershing Ave., Fort Worth.

Interment: 2:30 p.m. Friday, October 27, 2017 at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy., Dallas, TX 75211.

In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The First Tee of Fort Worth, 1900 Rockwood Park Dr N, Fort Worth, TX 76114 or the Fort Worth Symphony, 330 E 4th St #200, Fort Worth, TX 76102.

Tim was born in Evanston, IL. He graduated high school in Crystal Lake, then attended Drake University in Des Moines, IA.  Tim was a great athlete, lettering in baseball and football in high school and also at Drake. In addition, he was a member of the D Club and active in the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. It was at Drake where he met his wife of 52 years, Barbara Holscher. Upon graduation, he joined the United States Air Force and began a long and distinguished career as a pilot of the F-4 Phantom. His service included many stops along the way, both foreign and domestic, including Webb AFB (Big Spring, TX), Bitburg AFB (Germany), George AFB (Victorville, CA) and Nellis AFB (Las Vegas).  While Tim served his country, Barbara gave birth to three children Laura, Jennifer and Timothy. In 1967 Tim’s orders took him to Da Nang AFB, Vietnam.  While in Da Nang, he flew 137 missions, 101 of those over North Vietnam.  In June of 1968, he returned home to Holloman AFB (Alamogordo, NM) followed by Wild Weasel training at Nellis AFB. After a 2 ½ year assignment to Hahn AFB (Germany), Tim returned to Nellis AFB where he was selected to serve three years with the USAF Thunderbirds, one year as the logistics officer and the final two as the slot pilot where he flew in more than 300 air shows worldwide.  In 1974, after 10 years of active duty, Tim retired from the Air Force and began a long and successful career in aviation, joining General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. Although no longer on active duty, Tim continued his service as a reservist where he acted as the Air Force Recruiting Officer for the next 20 years. Tim was charged with recruiting Fort Worth’s best and brightest for appointments to the US Air Force Academy. Over the years, Tim assisted dozens of candidates successfully gain appointments to the Academy.

Tim spent 24 years at Lockheed Martin where he first worked in F-16 Marketing, then Product Support, the TTTS program, and lastly flight evaluations of potential foreign customers. He earned his MBA from TCU and completed the prestigious Stanford University Executive Program in Business. He served on many non-profit committees and ran tons of golf tournaments. He retired in 2007, having had many incredible experiences all over the world, to become a full time grandpa.  It was a truly wonderful "golden years" time for him to be able to attend many of the grandchildren’s events.

Over the years Tim played golf at Ridglea Country Club, skied Beaver Creek & Vail, ran, biked, and enjoyed house projects and working in the yard - rarely an idle moment!  He and Barb also attended the Fort Worth Symphony, the museums, and the Cliburn.  Traveling to Colorado often was a favorite of theirs, as well. Tim was a dear & devoted husband, father, grandfather and loyal friend, boss, coach and mentor.  The family is ever grateful to the many people who lifted him up during his final 10 years.  Thanks to them and Community Hospice, his last five months were meaningful and restful.

Tim was an ordinary person who created many extraordinary opportunities.  He gave them his "all" which resulted in one exciting life. He never looked back, rather focused on the next challenge.  On September 18 he peacefully slipped the surly bonds of Earth for his final flight from the country he loved and protected.  God Speed, #4!

Tim was preceded in death by his parents, Lucile and Louis Roels, and son-in-law Eric Joseph Litterer. Survivors include wife, Barbara; daughters Laura Litterer and Jennifer Fackel (Joe); son Tim, Jr. (Ann), grandchildren Morgan and Lindsey Litterer, Grant and Nathan Fackel, Addie and James Roels; brothers Ted and Phil Roels (Joan), and nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his memory to The First Tee of Fort Worth or the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Service will be held on Saturday, September 23rd at 11AM at Holy Family Catholic Church, 6150 Pershing Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76107. Tim will be interred with full military honors at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery at a later date.