JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville’s surfing community gathered on Tuesday to commemorate the life of Joe Roland, a 73-year-old surfing legend who grew up in Atlantic Beach, pulled off an incredible upset win at the 1968 East Coast Surfing Championships at just 17 years old, and was elected to the East Coast Surf Legends Hall of Fame in 1998.
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According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Roland was found by St. Johns County Fire Rescue on Nov. 7 after he was pulled from the water at Ponte Vedra Beach with his surfboard still attached to his leg.
He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died, SJC officials said.
His funeral service was held on Tuesday and was attended by a myriad of family and friends who spoke highly of the man they said, “put Jacksonville surfing on the map.”
The service began with a 4-minute video tribute compiled by Mitch Kaufmann, a third-generation native of Jacksonville Beach known in the community as “Mr. Mayor.” The video touched on Joe’s upbringing, his “quiet, yet positive“ demeanor, and surfing accomplishments, along with comments from fellow surfers, who described Roland’s surfing style as ”cat-like."
“Thanks to his free-surfing and competitive prowess, Joe was one of four surfers who put Jacksonville on the surfing map, letting the world know that Jacksonville was no longer the stepchild of Cocoa Beach,” a section of the video stated.
Following the video, an array of speakers walked up to the podium to honor the life of Roland, and while plenty of stories involved surfing, many made sure to let attendees know that Joe’s life was about more than surfing.
“I wasn’t going to tell any surfing stories,” a man named David said. “Joe was a legend, without a doubt. But Joe was bigger than a legend.”
David was followed by a man named Mike Fogg, who said he was “shocked” to learn the news about Roland, and had a “special friendship” with the Atlantic Beach native.
“I think everybody that was friends with Joe had a different and unique friendship, and ours was different and unique,” Fogg said before calling about 10 people to the stage who had some form of connection and friendship to Roland.
Fogg went on to speak about Joe’s relationship with religion, remembering him as a man who valued his relationship with God and had “the gift of worship.”
“Joe had direct worship with God that was so unique... I’d never seen it to that level with anyone else,” he said.
He added that Joe was “focused” on worshipping God, sometimes taking up to two hours to walk along the beach and pray.
“In my mind, I thought ‘Wow, that’s a lot of discipline,' but it wasn’t discipline, it wasn’t a chore, but rather, it was [Joe’s] high calling,” Fogg concluded.
Roland leaves behind his wife Jennifer and his son Nathan.
According to the Florida Times-Union, Mitch Kauffman said Jacksonville’s surfing community is planning a “traditional paddle-out ceremony“ for Roland saying, “We’ll have a paddle-out when the family is ready.”
