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A man in motion now at rest

Posted on February 5, 2009February 5, 2009 by Staff

By Kirk Ross and Margot C. Lester
Staff Writers

Author, newspaper editor and self-proclaimed “notorious hometown ne’er do well” Roland Giduz was remembered fondly by friends and family on one of those clear, sunny Chapel Hill afternoons he cherished so much.

Giduz died Saturday after a long illness. He was 83.

What started as a gray Monday turned into a glorious, warm afternoon – the kind of day that typically would lure Giduz and his wife, Helen, out of the house for a stroll down Franklin Street.
During the service, attended by about 400 people, many references were made to Giduz’s signature greeting, “Ain’t you glad!,” his love of singing and his fondess for the ukulele, which was given a place of honor at the altar for the service.

His son, Bill, gave a eulogy in the style of his father. In fact, the elder Giduz himself had helped edit the piece a few weeks ago. It was packed with funny anecdotes and fond remembrances, punctuated with Bill’s impressions of his father’s presentation style and personality. Much was made of Roland’s love of statistics – right down to his counting the number of meetings he attended as a Chapel Hill Town Council member (400 attended, 7 missed) and timing church sermons. Bill’s tribute lasted nine minutes and 48 seconds. We know this because brother Tom pointed it out upon taking his turn at the altar.

Tom’s eulogy consisted of lessons he learned from his father, such as, “When there’s an easy way to do something or an exciting way, choose the exciting way.” In closing, Tom suggested that the best way to honor his father was to “practice his lessons.”

Among those attending the service was Laurie Norman of Carrboro, who first met Giduz in the 1980s when she was a student involved with the General Alumni Association, where Giduz was director and alumni editor.

“He always greeted me with, ‘Ain’t you glad!,’” she recalled. “Being a little intimidated by him anyway, I never knew quite how to respond. I do recall he was pretty excited to find out I was from Wilkes County and that I might could score him some quality ‘shine.”

During Norman’s term as president of the Chapel Hill Preservation Society, the organization presented Giduz with the inaugural Horace Williams Award for his leadership in preserving the town’s history. He was given a pen made from a walnut tree on the grounds of the Horace Williams House.
“I understand from Helen that he carried it in his pocket every day,” she added.

Also in attendance was former Chapel Hill Mayor Jonathan House. After the service, he recalled Giduz’s interest in local politics.

“When I became mayor of Chapel Hill, an office he sought but was denied, he was always forthcoming with his advice,” Howes said. “He was the perennial sponsor of the idea of an admissions tax, or ticket tax, to be imposed by the town on large spectator events. He felt that the tax would be a source of revenue for the town that would be paid largely by visitors and provide a little relief to the ever-increasing property tax, paid by property owners. Maybe it’s time to enact it and name it for Roland.”

Giduz served on the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen and lost to Howard Lee by roughly 400 votes in Lee’s successful bid to become the first black mayor of a major Southern town. Giduz said one of his regrets in public life was failing to support a public-accommodations ordinance that would have effectively integrated restaurants in town.

Rollie Tillman, founding director of UNC’s Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and former UNC vice chancellor for university relations, said he appreciated Giduz’s joie de vivre, faith and positive outlook.

“I don’t have much to say that wouldn’t be adding wood to the woodpile,” Tillman said. “But I sure loved his endless optimism.”

Even in his final months, Giduz would entertain guests and take phone calls, never too ill to share a story with and comfort a visiting friend. Till the end, he recorded each interaction on a legal pad always at hand.

“Roland was a character, to say the least,” Norman said. “I thought the world of him and I learned much from him and his love for Carolina, the town of Chapel Hill and his determination to do the right thing. The likes of Roland Giduz and Rebecca Clark are no more, but I sure am glad I knew them.”

Though Giduz has departed the Southern Part of Heaven, his influence and impact are still palpable. And if we squint just right, we might still see him out there, as Howes will.

“My indelibly imprinted images of Roland are seeing him heading for the Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning on his trusty recumbent bike,” Howes shared. “And, more recently, when he couldn’t ride the bike anymore, seeing him, with Helen at his side and his tall walking sticks in hand, on his two-mile walks along Franklin Street, surveying his beloved Chapel Hill.”

In addition to his many other activities, Roland Giduz produced community programming for The Peoples Channel focusing on Chapel Hill history and culture. In 2008, Giduz donated his entire archive of that programming to the station, and its producers created a weekly show of highlights called Keep on Rollin’, which still airs.

The Peoples Channel will air a nearly all-day block of that programming on Wednesday, Feb. 4, and community members are encouraged to visit the station on Friday, Jan. 30, from 2 to 9 p.m., to share stories to be included in the day’s programming. Call-in reminiscences will also be received during those hours at 960-0088.

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