Former South Elgin president Rolando dies

SOUTH ELGIN -- Tom Rolando, who had been village president for 29 years, died Tuesday at age 72, his son, Mike Rolando, reported Tuesday night.

He died about 4 p.m. at his son's home in Elgin. Funeral arrangements were pending at Laird Funeral Home of Elgin.

Rolando, a pharmacist and former drug store owner, had fought bone cancer for two years. In February of this year, the South Elgin Village Board decided to rename East Avenue Park "the Thomas J. Rolando Woods." But the modest, quiet Rolando said he didn't want that, and the idea was quietly shelved.

Rolando served as village president for a record 29 years (1968-1997) and as a village trustee for six years before that.

He began working at Cook's Pharmacy on State Street in 1959 and bought out partner Jack Cook in 1981. In 1995, the pharmacy went out of business, and Rolando went to work for Target.