Little League® International remembers, John Roll, former Kentucky Districts 5 and 1 Administrator and the first Little League volunteer from the state of Kentucky to be elected as a Central Region field representative to the Little League International Board of Directors. He was 78.
Mr. Roll, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, was a resident of Greenville, Kentucky, at the time of his passing. Employed by the United Postal Service for many years, Mr. Roll also served in the United States Army Reserve for 28 years.
With more than six decades as a volunteer (64 years) with the Little League program, Mr. Roll’s service began at the local level (3 years as a coach, 10 as team manager; 20 as League President) and concluded with a three-year tenure as Kentucky District 1 Assistant Administrator, and 28 as D.A. Mr. Roll was the Kentucky District 5 Administrator for 10 years (1990-99) and later held the D.A. title for Kentucky District 1 as part of the state’s redistricting. He served as Kentucky 1 D.A. until Nov. 2019. Mr. Roll also attended six International Congresses, including the 25th Congress (2010) held in Lexington.
He was recently inducted into the Muhlenberg County (Kentucky) Sports Hall of Fame and was a prominent figure with the Greenville High School Basketball program as a player and later as the school’s public address announcer.
Mr. Roll is survived by his daughter, Gwen (Jason) Courtney; grandchildren, Justin Courtney, and Jonathan Courtney; brother, Mike Roll; sister, Mildred Ruth “Mimi” Roll; nephew, Michael “Kevin” (Jen) Roll; and niece, Erica (James) Hayes.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Betty Jon Roll; mother, Jewel Roll and father, Henry Brown Roll.