Funeral services are set for Tuesday and the time-honored tradition of a paddle-out will be on Nov. 23 to pay tribute to surfing legend Joe Roland.
The 73-year-old was found on the Ponte Vedra shore with his surfboard still attached on Nov. 7. He was taken to a hospital but died. His cause of death was not publicly released.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. at Community Presbyterian Church, 150 Sherry Drive, next to Atlantic Beach Elementary. The paddle-out will be the next Saturday at noon beginning at the south side of the Jacksonville Beach Pier. Surfers will paddle out to sea and form a circle to share memories of Roland.
At just 17 he became the East Coast Surfing Association’s first men’s champion in 1968, which he won again the next year. He also competed in World Surfing Championships in 1968 in Puerto Rico and 1970 in Australia. He was elected to the East Coast Surf Legends Hall of Fame in 1998.
Into his 70s he was often seen swimming and surfing the ocean or walking on the beach not far from where he lived in Ponte Vedra.
“He was the happiest, nicest, mellowest guy,” Mitch Kaufmanna well-known Beaches surfer often referred to as Mr. Mayor, previously told the Times-Union. “He’s a Christian, and this is what everybody says about Joseph — he walked the walk. When it came to being a Christian, he was the real deal.”
“Faith, family, then surfing,” friend Mickey Ross said. “Joe’s focus was, he never met anybody he didn’t show love to, he never had a bad word for anybody. He would show his love for them through his action. His words. Everything.”
Mike Fogg, a longtime friend of Roland, his wife Jennifer and son Nathan, said he was more than just a great surfer. He said Roland, who retired as a computer programmer for the city of Jacksonville, enjoyed philosophical discussions, could play numerous musical instruments and had a recording studio in his house.
He grew up in Atlantic Beach, where he began surfing at 13 with his brothers Vincent, Brad and Paul. His father, Mat Roland, founded a seafood company in Mayport bearing his name.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Funeral and paddle-out set for Ponte Vedra surfing legend Joe Roland
