O'Neil "Neil" L. Rollins

Born on Oct. 6, 1923, to Dartha Murray Rollins and Lonnie F. Rollins.

He was the middle of three sons (Arden, Neil, Grover).

He lived a happy and fulfilled life and has lived in NC, NY, Nevada, Florida, TX, and MS. He loved real estate work and assisted in developing lake resort property in various states. When he moved to MS, he and his wife developed Southland Resort Corporation. He also developed an independent company - "Legacy Land." Both companies are still in business today. He was highly regarded by his community members who often sought him out for advice.

Neil was so proud to have served his country. One of his quotes about his service is at the top of his grave headstone ("I'm glad I had the honor of serving my country"). He entered service on Feb 3, 1943. He was trained as an Air Force Gunner of the B 17. He was later transferred to the Army Infantry - 9th division at Corporal Rank. He served in the Rhineland-Central Europe Campaign but was wounded in Germany in March of 1945. He served in WWII in the US Army 60th Infantry Division primarily in Germany. He was a POW briefly but was rescued by the British. He earned a Purple Heart due to a bullet to the leg that caused a severe injury. While at a hospital in Paris for treatment, he discovered his physician was also a NC boy and that his brother Arden had been in the same Paris Hospital too. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his meritorious military service. Neil actually has 2 Bronze Stars in addition to his Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged on Oct. 16, 1945.

Neil was very proud of his family and often attended family reunions through the years. He is survived by his friend, Maria, 4 daughters (Donna, Linda, Alecia, and Rita) and 2 stepchildren (Ginger and Rush). He has 5 grandchildren (John, Dayna, Mitch, Christine and Melody) and 3 great- grandchildren (Nina, Paige, and Christopher). He is also survived by 3 nieces (Teressa, Phyllis, Sibyl) and 2 nephews (Larry and Lonnie) and many grand nephews and cousins.

While visiting with his family in Fuquay-Varina he often sang and played the harmonica. He had a beautiful bass voice and taught his children to love music. He wrote an essay about music at the age of 16 that begins with the phrase " Music is something that thrills the whole world" and ends with the phrase: "You may like to think that music is like a strong wind, a soft cloud, or a moving tide that carries us out of our everyday selves into a world of the spirit of pure thoughts, of happiness, of sympathy, of fun, of aspiration and then brings us back again refreshed and better able to do our work in the world."

He loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and his faith was important to him. He often told his children not to forget to say their prayers. He also told them whenever they started driving to "watch out for truckers" on the road in deference to his brother, Grover. In his last years of life, he attended Iglesia Adventista Maranatha Church with Maria. His church hosted his 100th birthday celebration and visited him to sing and pray in his last few days of life.