Rollie Edward Seibert was born on January 9, 1943, to Edward Frank Seibert and Marguerite Anne Seibert née Brown. After a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer, Rollie died in his home from related causes at the age of 83 on April 21, 2026.

Raised in Portland, Oregon, Rollie graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He was admired throughout school years for his “Trojan skill” in mathematics and science, graduating at the top of his class and earning a full-ride scholarship to MIT.

His brilliance was outweighed only by in his love of family. Rollie transferred to University of Oregon Clark’s Honor College in his sophomore year to be closer to home. There, he met his future wife, Gail Rose Hayden. Rollie was smitten, ultimately flunking out of his first year of graduate school due to the amount of time he spent with her instead of in class. Gail must have been smitten, too, as she found out about this only after their wedding and yet the couple remained together for another 42 years.

After their marriage, they taught at Lowell School District, with Rollie teaching math and science and Gail teaching physical education. Between the two of them, they taught every student enrolled in the district in 1965-66. Rollie then worked as one of the inaugural teachers at Churchill High School in Eugene, Oregon. He held an unshakable belief in all of his students’ potential, especially those at risk of dropping out.

In 1970, Rollie enrolled in a two-year Master’s program in physics and graduated in a single year. With a growing family and little prospect of finding a job in physics due to government funding cuts, Rollie took a position as a salesman with the Burroughs Adding Machine Company.

Rollie soon discovered a distaste for the life of a traveling salesman. His daughters, Dana and Sally, were the ultimate joys of his life, and he resolved to establish a career that would allow him to spend more time at home with them. Rollie and two of his friends went on to form their own company that specialized in accounting and inventory management software.

Rollie’s love of learning was an inspiration to those around him, and he delighted in an intellectual challenge. He was a prolific student and teacher of bridge, and he earned the rank of Life Master in his dedication to play the perfect game. Rollie’s depth of knowledge also made him an ideal trivia master, quizzing his family on every topic from history and geography to math and science.

After Gail’s passing, Rollie met his second life-partner, Ruth Voltz, expanding his family even further. For the past 18 years, Rollie and Ruth have traveled the world together, splitting their time at home between Gleneden Beach and Wilsonville, Oregon. A man of many interests, Rollie spent his retirement square dancing, playing and teaching bridge, RV camping, playing the guitar, telling jokes, collecting comics, and spending time with his family.

Those who knew Rollie will remember his warm, loving smile, but it was an extraordinary feat to catch that smile on camera. If you have a photograph of Rollie that you treasure, his family would be honored if you would send them a copy.

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