Roane T. Sias
August 28, 1922 – May 12, 2015
A celebration of the life of Roane Thorpe Sias will be held at 2:00 p.m.. Saturday, June 27, 2015 at the Meadow Club, 1001 Bolinas Road in Fairfax. Roane died peacefully at his home in Greenbrae, CA on May 12, 2015 at the age of 92. He is survived by his loving wife Clare Wheeler, brother John Sias, daughter Corrie Sias, sons Spencer (Stacey) and Ben (Kristan) Sias, stepsons Toby (Indira), Dick (Sheila) Wheeler, and Ned (Lili) Wheeler, stepdaughter Lindsay Wheeler (Rick Makdisi) and 14 grandchildren. Roane was preceded in death by his first wife, Charlotte Sherman Sias and brother, Tom Sias.
Born to Donald and Helena Sias in Los Angeles on August 28,1922, Roane moved with his family at age 4 to Mill Valley where he grew up. Roane earned the Eagle Scout award and graduated from Tamalpais High School in 1940 where he set the North Coast Section backstroke record which stood for decades.
After one year at College of Marin, Roane began his service in World War II as an Air Force pilot. In 1943 while flying a P-38 Lightning over Italy he was shot down and managed to escape the Germans twice. An Italian family found Roane and hid him in their wine cellar for 6 months which is where he acquired his taste for good wine and learned just enough Italian to be dangerous. This courageous family loved Roane and helped him successfully return to allied lines and then home in 1944 to be awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Roane met Charlotte Sherman of Mill Valley and they married on July 6, 1946 in Ross, California. Two years later he completed his education at the University of Washington with the help of GI Bill benefits and sales commissions as an ace Fuller Brush salesman. His lifelong career in sales began with life insurance sales for Mutual Benefit Life. In 1962 he joined the Bank of California as a Trust Officer where he retired in 1970 only to resume his career at Whittier Trust Company of Pasadena. He celebrated his final retirement at the age of 79.
After his graduation from college, Roane and Charlotte remained in Seattle, Washington where they had three children. In 1953, they moved the young family back to Marin County where Roane taught his children to body surf “Sias” style at Stinson Beach, shoot handmade cannons and fire off cherry bombs on the 4th, make Christmas wreaths and sell them door to door, cultivate a Christmas tree farm, clear by hand his San Anselmo lot of poison oak, drive a stick shift, and entertain Russian scientists in his home during the Cold War. With the extroverted and energetic Roane, life was always an adventure for Charlotte and the “kiddies”. In 1996 right before their 50th wedding anniversary, Charlotte died of cancer.
Roane met Clare Rolph Wheeler who had been recently widowed herself. They shared a mutual love of the outdoors, became close and married on May 31, 1997 surrounded by both Roane’s and Clare’s children and grandchildren. They enjoyed almost 18 years together camping, traveling, attending the ballet and theatre, and sharing time with their mutual friends and extended family both in Marin County and at Clare’s ranch in Mendocino County.
Donations in Roane’s memory may be made to Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), PO Box 809, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956.