Roland Marcel Clavien, a longtime resident of Vicksburg, passed away on March 6 while vacationing in Jacksonville, Florida. He was 55.

Roland was born on Sept. 14, 1964, in Quantico, Va. He was raised in Princeton Junction, N.J.

Roland received his finance degree with honors from Georgetown University.  He was selected for the Army Comptrollership Program at Syracuse University in 1992, where he received his master’s degree in business administration in 1993.

Roland received a second master’s in National Security Strategy in 2006.  He held positions with the office of the Secretary of the Army as an intern, then as a budget analyst.

In 1993, he began to work for the U.S. Information Systems Command, and in 1996 he took over the Command’s Southwest Asia operations.  He became Director of Resource Management for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in 2002, and in 2016, became ERDC’s Financial Analytics Officer, a position he held at the time of his death.

 Roland received numerous commendations from the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Budget, two Army Commander’s Honorary Civilian Service Awards, the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award, and the Bronze Order of de Fleury Award.

He was also nominated for ERDC Supervisor of the Year (2009) and throughout his career for multiple Army Resource Management Awards.  He was a Certified Defense Financial Manager and a member of the Great River Chapter of the American Society of Military Comptrollers, for which he served as chapter president from 2003 to 2005 and again from 2007 to 2015.

 Roland loved sports of all kinds and had a passion for the New York Yankees, softball, and followed New York and New Jersey professional teams, as well as Georgetown University basketball.  He also loved James Bond films, collecting baseball cards, reading, going to the movies, and traveling.

Family and friends were vital to Roland and he made an immense effort to stay engaged with a regionally dispersed group of loved ones.  He loved life and lived it to the fullest, and was happiest when spending time with family and friends.

 Roland leaves behind his loving wife, Sherry McCoy-Clavien; his stepdaughters, Jade McCoy and Jordan McCoy; his step-grandchildren Zaden and Sypher; his mother, Mireille; his sister Simone; an aunt and uncle; cousins; two nieces; and a nephew.

He is predeceased in death by his father, Marcel Clavien.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Paws Rescue, a non-profit, no-kill animal rescue located in Vicksburg, Ms. You may reach Paws Rescue via email leigh@pawsrescuepets.org or 601-529-1535.  Mailing address is Paws Rescue, POB 13, Redwood, MS 39156.