There could not have been a more appropriate hometown for Walter Arnold “Bud” Rolfs Jr. than Mount Joy, PA, for throughout his life Bud brought joy wherever he went. In high school he was known as an athlete on the football, wrestling, and baseball teams, as well as a poet, a singer in the chorus, and an avid chess player. His creative mind was always working on ways to amuse and otherwise entertain his friends. Whether it was as a leading cast member of The Music Man or producing and co-starring in video parodies of “Batman and Robin” (using his friend’s Buick Invicta as their Batmobile), Bud was a consummate entertainer. Bud was also a fierce competitor, one of many character traits he gleaned from his coach and mentor, Mr. Walter Price, who remained a respected and positive influence through Bud’s adult life.
Bud received nominations to USMA, the Coast Guard Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy, and he chose West Point—for reasons that he never explained to us, his classmates. After our eight-week Beast Barracks, Bud became a member of the initial plebe class of Company I-4. He quickly became well known for his quick wit and friendly nature. It was particularly fortunate for an I-4 plebe to be assigned to a Mess Hall table with Bud because obtaining a “fall out” was a certainty whenever Bud would seize the opportunity to rise from his chair and parade up and down the sides of the table singing “Oh, we got trouble, right here in River City, with a capital ‘T’ that rhymes with ‘P,’ and that stands for ‘pool.’” Nothing in the cadet experience—not the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Office of Physical Education, nor the Tactical Department—fazed him. Potentially irritating experiences, such as a Buckner company commander addicted to double-timing in summer heat, just provided fodder for Bud’s creative mind to produce jokes and funny songs.
In the summer beginning cow year, Bud met Nancymarie Formato, a Newburgh native and a rising sophomore of SUNY at New Paltz who had grown up resolved to have nothing to do with any member of the Corps of Cadets. Bud’s charm and inherent goodness changed her mind on that score, and on June 17, 1973 they married. This was 11 days after graduation, and Bud’s only regret 49 years later was that he “had wasted 11 days of my life.”
Bud became a Field Artillery officer and served his military obligations at Fort Riley, KS in the 1st Infantry Division. He and Nancymarie were blessed with their daughter, Amy, in May 1975 and their son, Eric, on Christmas Day 1976. Following his honorable discharge from the Regular Army, Bud joined the Polaroid Corporation in Massachusetts. Over the next 20 years, he rose steadily through Polaroid and led many high-profile projects, eventually becoming a vice president overseeing the Instant Film Global Division. One significant innovation that he introduced to enhance the quality of Polaroid’s manufacturing process became the subject of a Harvard Business Review case study. He obtained an MBA from Rivier College and completed the Executive Development Program at Cornell University. He later worked at Analogic Corporation and developed a second career as a stock market analyst on a national radio program, earning the nickname of “Channel Master.” Throughout his successful career, he believed that the most important lesson from being a cadet was the response and attitude of “No excuse, Sir,” which he had learned on R-Day. He lived by that credo and opined that it had served him well in life.
Throughout his life, Bud’s primary focus was on his beloved Nancymarie and their family. Theirs was a very happy home and a tight-knit family. They were delighted when Amy graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1997 and obtained her Master of Engineering degree from MIT the following year. In 1999 they proudly witnessed Eric’s graduation from USMA, following in Bud’s footsteps. Eric went on to receive a Master of Business Administration degree from MIT. As the years progressed, Bud and Nancymarie were blessed with three granddaughters and four grandsons, whom Bud lovingly designated as “The Magnificent Seven.” These children became “the Center of the Universe” for Nancymarie and Bud. The kids adored their Boppa and all his West Point stories, his jokes, the amazing poems that he wrote for them, the delicious feasts he cooked, and the ever-adventurous trips that he shared with them.
Although in his later years Bud suffered greatly from a series of debilitating illnesses, he refused to let them interfere with his goal of helping and caring for others. When he chatted from his sickbed with classmates, he was more interested in their lives than in his own plight. His belief in Jesus Christ and the redemptive power of prayer caused Bud to be outspoken in his convictions. His faith remained steadfast, even in the wake of receiving his terminal diagnosis.
During the months before he died, Bud changed his opinion about the best thing he took from West Point. While still valuing the “No excuse, Sir” attitude, he concluded that the lifelong friendships he had made were what he valued most from having been a West Point cadet.
Knowing and loving Bud has been a treasured aspect of the lives of his family and classmates. He remains with us when we recall his stories and jokes, read his poems, think of family get-togethers, and whenever we ponder the select group of special people who have made our lives better.
Well done, Mr. Rolfs; well done, indeed. Grip hands.
— Paul F. Benoit ’73