Rolland L. Strausbaugh,87, of Lafayette, IN, died at The Grand of Prospect in Louisville, KY on August 3, 2023.  Born December 13, 1935, in Logan, OH, he grew up in Columbus, OH, where he graduated from Columbus North High School in 1953.

He had been a resident of Lafayette for the past 58 years.  He received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University in 1957.  While at The Ohio State University he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, The Ohio State Varsity Lacrosse Team.  He attended Ohio State on an N.R.O.T.C. scholarship and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy in 1957.  He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law in 1963.  He was an associate editor of the Indiana University School of Law “Law Journal”.  He was also a member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and was selected a faculty member of Beta Gamma Sigma, business honorary.

He married Judith Neville O’Bannon (deceased 2014) in December in 1957 in Columbus, OH.

Strausbaugh served as an Officer in the United States Navy from 1957 to 1960 and continued in the naval Reserve until retirement in 1995.  In the Naval Reserves he served as Commanding Officer of the NR Surface Division 9-47 in Indianapolis, IN.

After graduation from law school, he was the Law Clerk to the Hon. William E. Steckler, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.  Ron was admitted to the practice of law by the Indiana State Bar and the Federal District Bar in both the Southern District of Indiana and the Northern District of Indiana.  In 1993 he was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of the United States.  He came to Lafayette, IN, in 1965, and was engaged in the legal practice until joining Purdue University as an assistant professor in the Krannert School of Management in 1970 where he taught Government Regulation, Business Law and Commercial Law for over 46 years.  He published several articles in legal publications and authored a college law text entitled:  “Government Regulation in the Business Environment”.  He was active in local government for over 35 years.  He was a democratic City Councilman in Lafayette, IN, from 1971 to 1979, serving two terms as council president.  He was a member of the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission, serving one term as commission president.  He served on the Tippecanoe County Council of Governments; as a Trustee on the Tippecanoe Building Commission; the Lafayette Human Relations Commission; and the Lafayette Railroad Commission.  He was a member of the Lafayette Board of Parks and Recreation from 1987 until retirement in December of 2005.  He served several terms as president of the Park Board and served on the Lafayette Parks Foundation.

Ron was active in youth sports programs in Lafayette and Indianapolis.  He coached Little League teams at the Lafayette Y.M.C.A. for several years and was active in local and state tennis activities having served on the Greater Lafayette Tennis Association and a board member of the Central Indiana Tennis Association.  He and his family were cited as Tennis Family of the Year by the C.I.T.A. in 1985.  He was a Member of the American Legion Post in Lafayette, IN.

He was an active member of Kiwanis International for over 51 years.  He was a charter member and past President of the Lafayette-Harrison Kiwanis Club, and served on the state level as Lieutenant Governor in 1969.  He held several different positions as district committee chairman for the Indiana District of Kiwanis.  He was given Life Membership in Kiwanis International and received the 50 Year Legion of Honor Award in 2015.

Ron was a member of the Tri-State Regional Business Law Association and served as its Executive Secretary for 10 years.  The Tri-State recognized him with their “Distinguished Service Award”, and its “Special Service Award” as Executive Secretary.  Ron was a volunteer at Indiana University Health Arnett Hospital.

The Krannert School of Management presented him with a 20-Year Service Award for service as Secretary to the Krannert Faculty.  The Mayor of Lafayette, IN, presented him with the Lafayette Distinguished Citizen Award in 2004.  Governor Frank O’Bannon, of Indiana, made Ron a “Sagamore of the Wabash” in September of 2003.  Professor Strausbaugh went on half-time retirement in 2005 after 40 years of teaching at the Krannert School of Management.   In August 2010, he was retired as a Professor Emeritus in Management from the Krannert School.

Surviving are two sons:  Jeffrey (wife Marianne) of Albuquerque, NM and Andrew (wife Katherine) of Louisville, KY; and five grandsons, Alexander Strausbaugh, Benjamin Strausbaugh, and Nathan Strausbaugh of Louisville, KY, and Jarrett Strausbaugh and Ryan Strausbaugh of Albuquerque, NM.  He actively played in local Texas Hold’em poker tournaments and was known as the “Professor”.  Ron was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Visitation will be from 10:00 am until the time of the service at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 26, 2023, at Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twyckenham Blvd., Fr. Bradley Pace officiating. Private inurnment will be at Tippecanoe Gardens in West Lafayette.