Roland Leo Herberg

Roland Leo Herberg died in his home on November 13, 2015 in San Diego, CA due to a sudden strengthening of a lingering skin cancer. At the time of his passing he was surrounded by his wife and three children. He was 88.

Rollie was born on July 29, 1927 in Gascoyne, ND to his parents, Aaron Albert “Al” and Helen Mathilda (Kaczmarek) Herberg. After a brief stint in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he graduated from San Diego State with a degree in Accounting in 1950, and then received an MBA from Stanford University in 1952. There he met Margaret Eleanor Rudolph, and they were married June 20, 1952, immediately after their graduation.

Rollie lived in a variety of locations during his long and successful career. Soon after their marriage, the Herbergs moved to San Diego where Rollie worked as an industrial engineer for Ryan Aeronautical. In 1962 he began working as a land developer for the Janss Corporation in Santa Monica and moved to Thousand Oaks, CA. In 1966, Janss placed him in charge of the creation of the Snowmass ski resort in Colorado, and the Herberg family moved to Aspen. After that project’s completion, Rollie became a management consultant, which eventually morphed into an executive position in charge of land development with C. Brewer Co. in Hawaii, and the Herbergs then moved to Honolulu where Elli worked first as a paralegal and later as an attorney. At retirement in 1998, the Herbergs moved back to San Diego to be closer to family. An astoundingly caring and generous man, Rollie gathered and kept friends from every walk of life. He spent his later years devoted to, and traveling with, his wife Elli, helping his children, collecting art, and producing highly creative sculptures of his own.

Rollie is survived by his wife Elli, son David Herberg of Monte Sereno, CA, daughter Katie Bence of San Diego, and son James Herberg of Montrose, CO, and seven grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his sister, Florence Fansler. We will all miss him greatly.

A memorial will take place on Friday, December 4, at 2:00 pm in the Chapel at the Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church, 2128 Chatsworth Blvd., San Diego, California. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Rollie’s life.

He always felt his time at San Diego State University on the debate team had a profound impact on his ability to think critically and understand both sides of an issue. Toward the end of his life, he was passionate about working with the SDSU debate team and KPBS to harness the power of the debate format to provide the public with balanced arguments on thorny issues. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to San Diego State University, Department of Communications, Forensics Team, attn: Daniel Iberri-Shea, Director.