Roland Schinzinger, 1926-2004
We are not to know why
This and that masters us;
Real life makes no reply,
Only that it enraptures us
Makes us familiar with it.
Roland Schinzinger, born November 22, 1926, passed away of a heart attack on January 25, 2004. Son of Robert Schinzinger and Annelise Hebting, he was born in Osaka, Japan, where he spent his childhood and attended a German school. During the Second World War, he lived in Tokyo where his father was a teacher of philosophy, language and literature. Roland witnessed the horrors of war firsthand when Tokyo was firebombed in 1945...
A long-time member of the Orange County Friends Meeting..., Roland was a pillar of the Meeting. He served on many committees for the business of the Meeting, overseeing the marriages and memorials of many of the members. Peace activities were his special focus, from his involvement on the local level to service with the American Friends Service Committee, which concerns itself with peace and social justice around the world...
Memorial Minute
Few in the Orange County Meeting inspired more affection and respect than Roland Schinzinger. From the time of his first appearance at Meeting with his wife, Jane, and children: Stefan, Annelise, and Barbara, Roland plunged into an active role in the Meeting, At various times Roland served as clerk, representative to Friends Committee on Legislation, clerk of Peace and Social Concerns, member of Ministry and Oversight Committee and many clearness committees. Born in Japan of German parents, Roland was indelibly marked by elements of both cultures and by the experience of growing up in wartime Japan. His even temper, thoughtfulness, and consideration for others were coupled with a basic belief in the potential for growth in every human being. His great gift for developing and maintaining personal relationships led to numerous warm friendships in the Meeting, in his university life, and among distant relatives and former students with whom he kept in faithful contact.
One could call Roland a secular Quaker and a godly man. He was devoted to Quaker ideals of integrity, simplicity, concern for others, and pacifism; and he acted consistently upon these values in his personal, academic, public and Meeting life. Perhaps because of his early experiences in wartime and post war Japan, he regarded each moment as a gift, each day an opportunity for service. Roland was deeply spiritual without using the expected words for expressing his tenderness for life; yet an appreciation for the mysteries of being gave him the openness to accept new experiences and new relationships.
In 1965 Roland came from Berkeley to the new University of California at Irvine, where he completed his PhD thesis and helped to establish the new school of engineering. These were the Vietnam War years, and memories of wartime Japan led Roland to assist in weekly draft counseling in Santa Ana and to participate in vigils and marches opposing the war. At the University Roland developed a course on engineering ethics that aimed to help young engineering students attain a measure of independent thought to strengthen their conduct as autonomous ethical decision makers in their future careers. Together with a philosopher co-author, Roland wrote several books on engineering ethics dealing with the issues of personal responsibility, weapons production, whistle blowing, and product safety.
In these career and public action efforts Roland was encouraged by the Orange County Friends Meeting and, in turn, he offered strong leadership in the Meeting on peace and social action issues.
After Jane’s death from a long struggle with cancer, Roland married Shirley Price, also a long time member of Orange County Friends Meeting. Married under the care of the Meeting, they had nearly 10 years together.
Roland’s sudden death at 77, in January, 2004, deprived us all of a beloved friend, a spiritual guide, an inspirational example of a person whose life was dedicated to Quaker values.