Lee Rowland

Lee Weldon Rowland of Springfield, OH, entered eternal peace on Sunday, December 8th, 2024, at the age of 86. Lee was born on February 22nd, 1938, in Jackson, OH, son of Morris and Cora (Sexton) Rowland.

Lee later moved to Dayton, OH for employment with McCall's magazine (printing), where he met Wilma, who became the love of his life. They married soon after in December 1969 and took residence in Springfield, OH. Lee and his bride celebrated 55 years of committed marriage to one another, which included a tradition of keeping the Lord first. He was a faithful member of Christian Heritage Church for many years. Lee had a deep passion and love for Southern Gospel music. He dedicated much of his life to singing with the Canaan Land singers and Victory Quartet with hopes of sharing the love of Christ with others. In addition to singing, his interests included classic cars, watching western films and classic cartoons, and fast pitch softball. Once McCall's closed, Lee retired from A.O. Smith then took on part-time roles for both Dayton Wireburn and Electric Eel.

Lee is survived by wife, Wilma; daughters, Tammy (David) Abshear and Barbara (Ryan) Price; grandchildren, Stephen (Adrienne) Jones, Christopher (Katie) Abshear, Brennan (Stacy) Abshear, Amanda (Nathan) Auxier, Lauren (Andrew) Calogero-Blanchard Reed, and Sarah (Jake) Abshear-Reed; great-grandchildren, Alexandria, Oax, Sebastian, Alice, Lilith, and Thea; sister, Sharon Ditmer; a fortune of nieces and nephews; and adopted family, Bill & Beth Pumphrey, James, Cheryl, & Stella Buck, and Blaine Rosasco. Lee leaves behind many cherished friends. 

Lee is preceded in death by parents, Morris and Cora Rowland; siblings, Donald (JoAnne) Rowland, Janice (Gary) Rowland-Ditmer; brother-in-law, Alan Ditmer.

To honor Lee's memory, a visitation is scheduled for Friday, December 13th, at Christian Heritage Church (located at 820 Victory Rd, Springfield, OH 45504) from 11 AM - 12 PM with a Christian service to immediately follow at 12 PM. Interment will take place at Hudson Cemetery, South Solon, OH.  In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to Christian Heritage Church in Lee's honor at www.mychc.org.