Rolly was a devoted husband, father, brother, grandfather, great grandfather and friend. He was an intelligent and hard-working man, first a logger and then a long-haul trucker and heavy duty mechanic. He was a handy man extraordinaire, and every project he took on was done to perfection. He was an exceptional mechanic, and took much pride in restoring numerous classic cars. Rolly was an expert driver, winning many safe-driving awards during his years driving transport trucks. Rolly passed on his skills to his grandchildren, whom he taught to drive. He was a faithful supporter of his children and grandchildren's sporting events, attending many baseball and hockey games and tournaments. 

His three loves in life were: His family, his old cars, and his Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Rolly was fondly nicknamed the "Archie Bunker" of the family by his adoring wife Joyce (Edith), and in the words of his loving daughter Laurene, he was like a good dinner roll - crusty on the outside, but soft in the centre.

One of Rolly's quirks was that he had a nickname for everybody; If he knew you, you had a nickname, whether you knew it or not. 

Rolly was a generous and thoughtful man. When a family had no money to pay their Hydro bill, Rolly went to the hydro company and paid the family's hydro bill for the winter. He had a soft spot for the homeless and downtrodden and always offered a hand without expecting anything in return. He gave many of his clothes to the less fortunate and gave food to the local food bank. He was full of gratitude for everything he had in life, always expressing thanks for every meal prepared by his wife. He and his family would join hands at supper and say a prayer every night.

Rolly loved his four-legged friends, and treated them like his own children. He especially loved Janie, a brindel daschund, which he and Joyce adopted from California. Janie had been abused and crated by her previous owners. She was welcomed into the Ritchey family with open arms, and she stole Rolly's heart.  He also loved to sit and watch the birds outside of his window on a sunny day. 

Rolly was the fourth child of seven children, and was born in Lethbridge, Alberta on July 31, 1930. His family moved many, many, many times, but finally settled in Kelowna, BC in 1938. Roland married the love of his life, Joyce Jones, in 1955. They moved to Ontario in 1960 and raised their children Laurene and Darcy in Oshawa. 

Rolly and Joyce retured to Kelowna in 1986 to enjoy his retirement years in "God's Country". 

Rolly was extremely proud of his grandchildren and great grandchildren and all of their accomplishments. He adored his grandchildren Curt, Alexi, Ted, Darci and Alana; and great grandchildren Logan, Lucas, Chelsea, Dryden, Ronin and Griffin. He was always interested to see how his great grandchildren were doing and what activities they were involved in. He even attended several of his great grandchildren's hockey games despite his declining health.  

For many years, Rolly suffered with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung disease which made breathing very difficult. He fought a long hard, battle valiantly with help of his Angels, Joyce and Laurene. Rolly succumbed to his illness on September 19, 2014 at the age of 84 with his family at his side.

Instead of a funeral, the family has decided to organize a Celebration of Life in Kelowna next summer.  Please check this site in the coming months for information on the date and time.

In lieu of flowers you could assist one of the charities below that meant so much to Rolly:

·        Donate or rescue a dog in Rolly's memory:  http://oksmalldog.com/fundraisers/

·        Help someone in Rolly's community: http://www.innfromthecoldkelowna.org/

·        Donate and learn about COPD and lung disease: http://www.lung.ca/donate-don/index_e.php