Roland A. went. Deben from Somerset went home to be with the Lord on 8/24/23. He was the son of Roland E. Dibben and Janet (Stevens) Dibben. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Anna M. (Chukowski) Dibben, his daughter Karen Pensens, his stepdaughter Susan Pate, his son-in-law Peter Pate, and his daughter Anne Marie Lavoie and her husband Robert. He is the father of the late Jennifer Debben and brother of the late Edward Debben. He is also survived by his brother Robert Debben and his wife Lucille, his granddaughter Dr. Ashley Lavoie and her husband Greg, grandson Christopher Martin and his partner Jillian Wodarczyk, great-granddaughter Andrea Arroyo and her husband Joseph, great-granddaughter Eden Arroyo, great-grandson Wilder Martin and great-grandson Eric Pensence. He is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
He was a lifelong communicant and mentor at St. Patrick’s Church in Somerset. In his younger days he was a member of The Boys Club of Fall River, and later of the American Legion.
Rowland was born in Fall River in 1933 and graduated from BMC Durfee High School in 1952 and Campbell Business College in 1960. He was in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1957 and was stationed at National Airport in Washington, D.C., as a medic. He met his wife, Anna, there, and they were married at the Air Force Bowling Chapel in D.C. in 1957.
Roland was a talented pianist and was selected for the Air Force entertainment group “Tops in Blue.” Travel to every base in the USA, parts of Europe, Africa and Antarctica to name a few. The group appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1954, the year he was musical director. Jerry Van Dyke was his manager.
Rowland went to work as a claims adjuster at the Fall River Employment Office, and later became a manager at various employment offices in So. Eastern Massachusetts. When he retired, the employees presented him with a Santa Claus hat, saying he was very good to work with.
Roland was the leader of the Roland Girard Trio for many years and enjoyed sharing fond memories of the ten years they spent as the house band at Cliff Walk Manor in Newport. Newport in the 1960s was a wild place, he said.
Guests will be received at Auclair’s Funeral Home at 690 So. Main Street. Fall River, Massachusetts. Viewing will be Friday, 9/1/23 from 5-8 p.m., funeral on Saturday, 9/2/23 at 10 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church 306 South St. Somerset, MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Roland
Boys & Girls Club of Fall River 803 Bedford St. Fall River, MA 02723.
