Helen Rollert-Riordan makes gift in memory of
late husband Edward D. Rollert
Edward D. Rollert was an astute industrialist. An
innovator. A problem solver.
"He could read a problem and fix it —
that's what he did all his life," commented his wife, Helen
Rollert-Riordan.
Mrs. Helen Rollert-Riordan
Thirty-five years after his death, it could be said
that Edward Rollert is still helping to solve problems. In January,
Helen donated $500,000 to Munson Medical Center in Edward's memory.
The Rollert family directed its gift toward the expansion
of emergency services at Munson Medical Center. Current patient
volumes at Munson's ER are twice the intended capacity, and plans
are underway for much-needed expansion and improvements.
Edward D. Rollert
used his business skills for philanthropic work throughout
his life.
Helen said her husband truly loved the Traverse
City area and he worked to better the lives of those around him
throughout his life. The family decided that a gift to Munson
would be a fitting tribute to him, because it would do the most
good for the greatest number of people in the region.
"We hope this gift will prompt others to make
gifts of a similar or larger size so that my mother can see the
results of her contribution in memory of my father," said
the Rollerts' son, David. "My parents had a great love of
the Traverse City region and looked forward to retiring here.
I know if my father was alive, he would be quite pleased with
this gift to Munson Medical Center."
Edward Rollert died of a heart attack at age 57
while on a hunting trip to South Dakota in 1969. He was an Executive
Vice President of General Motors Corporation at the time of his
death. "He wanted to be president of General Motors and he
was well on his way," Helen said.
The Rollert family,
John, Helen, and David, pause during a tour of the busy and
over-crowded Emergency Department at Munson Medical Center.
In a recent interview, Helen and her sons, David
and John, shared memories of the man who helped shape the automobile
industry with inventive ideas. "Whenever they wanted something
new, they put on Ed Rollert," Helen said.
His sons recalled him as an industrious, influential
man, but one who also showed up for football games, and who found
his greatest peace sitting silently in a fishing boat. When his
sons hatched a plan or a dream, "he let us fly," John
said. "He very seldom put the brakes on us."
In the Beginning
The story of Edward and Helen Rollert began in 1929, the year
they graduated from high school in Chicago's south suburbs. Seated
alphabetically, Helen Rorabeck spent a lot of time staring at
the back of Ed Rollert's head. She wasn't impressed. It was Helen,
not Edward, who was valedictorian of their graduating class.
After graduation, Edward attended Purdue University.
Helen went off to Stephens College in Columbia, MO. When they
met again, Helen decided to give Ed Rollert a second look. "He'd
improved," she said simply. "He was a whiz in college.
He was a hard worker and he carried a big load. He grew up."
He'd always been a hard worker. As a child, he ran
trap lines and worked in the family's gasoline station. One of
his first jobs was as a water boy for a construction crew. Of
the 100 boys who wanted the job, young Edward was hired because
he was the only one who'd brought "the tools of the trade"
— a pail and cup. At Purdue, Edward was cadet colonel of
the Army ROTC unit. He helped finance his education by setting
up his own campus booking agency, bringing in the nation's top
orchestras for student dances. He also worked as a janitor in
a fraternity house.
Edward graduated from Purdue with a bachelor's degree
in Chemical Engineering in 1933 and a Master's Degree in Metallurgical
Engineering in 1934. He went to work for AC Spark Plug Division
of General Motors in Flint.
Helen and Edward honeymooned in Glen Lake. "We
only stayed a week because we ran out of money," Helen recalled.
"We didn't have a car. We didn't have furniture. It was 1935
and nobody had any money."
As Edward worked his way up the ranks at General
Motors in the AC Spark Plug Division, he built a reputation for
zeroing in on solutions. During World War II, arthritis prevented
him from serving overseas. He sometimes went to work on crutches
when his knees were especially painful, John recalled. But Edward
made significant contributions stateside. Flint became known as
"an arsenal of Democracy."
During the Korean conflict, Edward was running GM's
Assembly Division plant in Kansas City. He helped develop the
first "dual purpose" production plant, allowing simultaneous
production of defense materials and peacetime products.
Down the River
Edward soon had his hands full with his own problems. It started
raining on July 9 and the downpour continued for five days. The
result was known as The Great Flood of 1951. GM's Kansas City
assembly plant was located near the river. "As the river
started to rise my father was very concerned that the levee would
break," David said. "The Army Corps of Engineers assured
him that it would hold. It did, but the water went right over
the top."
As the floodwaters rose, Edward spearheaded the emergency action
that saved millions of dollars of equipment, supplies, and completed
cars. In the end, only 200 new cars floated down the river, a
fraction of what could have been lost. "He was the last one
to leave the factory," Helen recalled. "He tried to
save as much as he could."
At Home in Traverse City
Edward knew that salvaging the factory, which had been under 10
feet of water, was going to occupy him fully and he suggested
that Helen take the boys to Traverse City for a few weeks. Edward
and Helen had purchased property on Long Lake in 1945 but had
not yet built a home on it. Helen and her sons still chuckle as
they describe their arrival in Traverse City.
"I was driving our brand new Cadillac with
Kansas plates," Helen said. "We pulled in and set up
a big tent."
"We asked the neighbors next door if we could
borrow water and mother hired a carpenter to build a privy,"
David said. "They were probably thinking 'Oh, so these are
the new neighbors'."
Back in Kansas, Edward had the factory running again
within two weeks. The following summer, the Rollerts built a cottage
on Long Lake that the family continues to use to this day. "There
was a time when we were moving every four years," Helen recalled.
The one consistency during those years was time the family spent
at the cottage in Traverse City.
"I always considered this home because we always
came back here," John said.
"Ed loved coming to Traverse City," Helen
said. "He liked to hunt and fish — he just liked getting
away from Detroit."
From Kansas City, the family moved to Lockport,
New York, where Edward was general manager of GM's Harrison Radiator
Division. He immediately set about correcting a serious housing
shortage for factory employees. Under his watch, the factory developed
the first air conditioning systems for Buick.
Rescuing Buick
By the late 1950s, the Buick division was in dire financial straits.
GM was looking for a new general manager and tapped Edward for
the move back to Flint. "No one wanted the job," David
said. "Everyone figured Buick was going down the drain and
whoever took the job would go down with it."
Helen remembered this: "One of my friends said,
'Keep smiling, Helen.' I didn't know enough to be afraid. I never
had a doubt that he could do it."
At the wheel: Turning
GM's Buick Division around financially in the early 1960s
landed Edward Rollert on the cover of Business Week in October
of 1962.
Her faith was well placed. Buick production increased
100 percent in four years from 1959-1963. In October of 1962 Edward
and a spiffy new Buick Riviera landed on the cover of Business
Week — one of four times he was on the cover. One of his
first moves at Buick was to establish the Department of Reliability
and Quality Control, a revolutionary idea for its time. His goal
was to produce high quality, trouble-free cars.
"He was a great one for walking around the
factory," Helen said. "He went where general managers
had never been before. He treated it like it was his own family."
In 1965 Edward became vice president in charge of
the Car and Truck Body and Assembly Group and was named an executive
vice president the following year. In 1968 he took charge of General
Motors' Overseas subsidiaries and domestic non-automotive and
defense division, the position he held at the time of his death.
Community Leader
During his life, Edward was well-known for his philanthropic efforts.
He was concerned with the kind of society that surrounded the
business world. He set a record for fund-raising for the Lockport
Community Chest. In Flint, he was a successful fundraiser and
was a $25,000 sponsor of the Flint College and Cultural Development.
He sat on numerous community boards, including the Albion College
Board of Trustees, and was chairman of the board of General Motors
Institute. He was also recognized for his dedication to Radio
Free Europe.
Edward was enthusiastically involved in the initial
years of the Buick Open, which began in 1958 at Warwick Hills
Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc. The Buick Open grew to become
one of the premiere charity events in Michigan.
On hand to accept
the Rollert family's gift were (left to right) Jack Bay, chairman
of the Munson Healthcare Regional Foundation; John Rockwood,
President and CEO of Munson Healthcare; Mrs. Helen Rollert-Riordan;
and Ralph Cerny, President and CEO of Munson Medical Center.
The Rollert name is now included on a short list
in the lobby of Munson Medical Center of those who have contributed
$500,000 to the hospital, an appropriate honor to a family that
has given so much back to a community it treasures.
If you are a Munson Healthcare patient and have a compliment,
concern, or complaint, please contact one of our Patient
Liaisons.
