Rolland Saponas Obituary

Pony was born in Berthold North Dakota to Thomas and Esther Saponas. He spent most of his life in Colorado Springs moving here in 1955. He was married in 1942 to Jeanne Marcy LaCrosse. During WWII he served in the Merchant Marine as a radio officer. He survived the sinking of his ship in the Caribbean by a German U-boat. His 39 year career with Braniff International included 25 years as station manager in Colorado Springs. In mid-career he entered college and obtained both a Bachelors and Masters degree in History at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Education was very important to him and he served as the first chairman of the School District 11 Accountability Committee. After retiring from Braniff he taught American history at Pikes Peak Community College. He is survived by his wife Marcy of 66 years and 4 children, Roberta Dechert (Roland), Thomas (Charlotte), Timothy (Lou) and Jeanne Johnson (Tim) and 7 grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 4 pm Tuesday, September 1st at Calvary United Methodist Church, 4210 Austin Bluffs Parkway.