Alan Arnold
I have just learned of John's passing and felt compelled to write this even though likely no one will now ever see it. Dr. Rolloff was the very best teacher I and my wife ever had! He was always so creative in his educational style. I will never forget during one of his lectures he started out bringing into the classroom a big box. the box was making bumping sounds and moving around all throughout his lecture. The lecture of course involved what was in the box but not enough to give away the real surprise he had for all of us as the class time came to a close. About 10 minutes before the class was to end, John went over to the noisy box and slowly opened it with all of us having great anticipation of what the heck was in that box. Out jumped a baby lamb that had been born just the night before! All soft and ready to roam around all of us as we petted it. The smile on Dr. Rolloff's face indicated how much he loved to teach and bring interest into the classroom and to involve his students to keep them engaged. He was a lovely person! One more short story to show you how much he cared about his students: A few years after my wife and I graduated and had our own home and piece of land, Dr. Rolloff contacted us via phone (much easier in those days with listed land lines) and told us he was going to pass by on a trip he was taking and wanted to just stop by and visit us to see how we were doing. This man remembered the two of us and took the time to come to our home and visit for a couple of hours. What a guy! This was back in the late 1970's and we never saw him again but have always had the fine memories of a professor that was the best!