Starley Thomas Roehl Obituary (1926

During flight training, he learned how to bomb, and he flew airplanes to every continent, over the Arctic Circle and into the fiords of Greenland during the 25 years he served in the U.S. Air Force. Starley Thomas Roehl began designing airplanes after retiring from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. Throughout his life, he always enjoyed flying, whether on military or commercial aircraft, or virtually. Daddy loved Google Earth because it let him 'fly' to all the places we had lived when he was in the military and all the airports he had flown into," said Sheryl Ann Roehl of East Point, his youngest child and only daughter. "He loved showing us the fiords in Greenland where he had flown." Lt. Col. Roehl died August 6, 2015 at Wesley Woods of Newnan-Peachtree City, where his wife of 64 years, Mary Eleanor McEntire Roehl, and he had lived since July 2014. He was 88 years old. In addition to his wife and daughter, survivors include his brother and sister, Marvin Lee Roehl of Texas City, TX, and Mary Lou Verkin of Friendswood, TX; sons Starley Lee Roehl (Ola Lissowski) of Douglasville, GA, and Douglas Michael Roehl (Bridget) of Kissimmee, FL; and grandchildren Daniel (Heather) Roehl, Kerianne (Anthony Layrisson), Kaleigh Roehl, Stasio Roehl and Marysia Roehl. He was preceded in death by his parents, Starley Ernest Roehl and Lou Mildred Willoughby Roehl.Starley Thomas Roehl was born in Galveston, Texas, where he participated in Army ROTC in high school. He was graduated from Ball High School in 1943 and joined the Army Air Corps, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in 1943. His brother-in-law Paul Verkin, a classmate, remembers him in high school as "studious, strait-laced and a good guy." With World War II raging, he trained as an aircraft mechanic. He learned how to fly airplanes and later taught Army pilots at Coe College in Iowa. No matter how far his military career took him, "he was always there when I needed him," said Roehl's brother Marvin ("Bubby"). "When I was very young, we were in a canoe in the Gulf and the current took us out and we turned over. He put me on the canoe and took us to shore. He said our Mom would never forgive him if he did not bring Bubby home. Later, when I was sick with a touch of Polio, Da (Starley's childhood nickname) took leave from the military and came home to look after me." Marvin was only 15 when their father died. "My brother took the place of my dad and I've always looked up to him like a father," he said. Roehl served in Guam, beginning in 1946, and then was stationed in Papua New Guinea, mapping the South Pacific aboard a B-17. In 1951, while stationed in Columbus, Ga., as part of a B-26 squadron, he traveled to Atlanta for a weekend and met his future wife, Mary. After a courtship, they were married in St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Atlanta's West End. After receiving more instruction in navigation and radar technology, Roehl trained crews at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C. that were heading to Korea. He then was stationed in Germany, where he was part of a B-26 crew that flew night reconnaissance during the Cold War. In Landshut, Germany, he worked to develop and erect radar systems to direct U.S. aircraft and Matador missiles, and he touted the potential of Doppler radar systems in B-52 aircraft. The Air Force later sent him to college, and he earned an electrical engineering degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1963. As an electrical engineer with NORAD, Roehl was responsible for the computer and electronic systems at Cheyenne Mountain, a command center in Colorado Springs, CO, built to withstand a nuclear attack. When President John F. Kennedy visited the center, the computer system wasn't yet installed and up and running. Roehl refused to whitewash the situation and "fake" a demonstration for President Kennedy to appease the generals planning the President's official visit. "If he had been willing to lie or shade the truth, my father would have had the honor of meeting the President. But he was an honest man to his core," said his daughter. "He thought deeply and tried to do the right thing in each situation. He was just rock solid and a wonderful, caring father." Roehl had other postings in Rome, Italy, and Wiesbaden, Germany, where he helped develop radar sites and surveillance technology, all the while continuing to log hours as a navigator and flight crew member. When he retired in 1968, he received the U.S. Air Force Commendation Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster) for meritorious service. He worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft (now part of The Boeing Company) as an electrical engineer in Long Beach, Calif., retiring in 1983. He also taught high school math and physics in Irving, Texas, and in Southern California for several years. Among his students was Bert Roughton, Jr., senior managing editor of "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution." "Your dad was one of the few teachers I would count among those who deeply influenced me," said Roughton. "He cared about whether his students were actually learning in a way that few lifelong teachers seemed to express. He was authentic in a way few people are." After his second retirement, Starley and Mary Roehl divided their time between their homes in Atlanta, GA, and Southwest Florida. "He was a wonderful and loyal husband. We had a lot of great years together. I'm really going to miss him," his wife Mary said. Later, the couple lived in East Point, GA, with their daughter for 13 years until moving to Wesley Woods in July 2014. The couple were avid duplicate and party bridge players, and enjoyed entertaining, traveling and fishing, as well as attending concerts and sporting events. "My father was a very smart man, and I know it was hard for him to face that his exceptional mental capacities were slipping away when he developed Alzheimer's," said Sheryl Roehl. "I think he handled it with quiet grace and dignity." Funeral services will be held at Donehoo-Lewis Funeral Home in Hapeville on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 10 a.m., with burial at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Mon., Aug. 10 from 5-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Atlanta Humane Society or the Alzheimer's Association. To send a flower arrangement in memory of Starley Thomas Roehl, please click here to visit our sympathy store.