Mr. Roland Michael Boran (Mike)

Roland Michael Boran (Mike), age 77, of Woolwine, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 3.

He was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1939, to the late Roland J. Boran and Charlotte D. Boran. He attended several Catholic parochial elementary schools and then entered the Alexandria Public Schools where he was graduated from Francis C. Hammond High School.
Music and performing were natural to him, and famously in high school he rescued a sold-out dance with his “Capitol City All-Stars”, when the booked band did not show. He was a self-taught keyboard and guitar player and was a vital part of the Alexandria music scene in the late-1950's as a member of the Alexandria Abstracts. With John Phillips, Bill Cleary, and Phil Blondheim, the band changed their name to The Smoothies, and Blondheim changed his name to Scott McKenzie when they began recording for Decca Records in New York City and appeared on television’s American Bandstand. After the band broke up, Mike joined up with Tim Rose and they performed as Michael and Timothy.
Mr. Boran continued to perform while he entered the academic community and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from the American University of Washington D.C. and a Master of Education Degree in Political Science from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He was, for twenty-five years, a proud member of the Faculty at Herndon High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, where he taught Government and Political Science. He was known for wearing a lab coat (as a social scientist), and wielded a broken pool cue which he used to perform drum rolls on the trash can. He was well known for performing "You've Got a Friend" each year at Herndon's graduation. He was the first and only high school teacher in Fairfax County to be asked to speak the Commencement Address at a graduating class – Year 1976. That was one of his greatest tributes, and he treasured it.
During this time, with the help of many former students, he built a rustic log-and-stone home deep in the Bull Run Mountains of Fauquier County, Virginia, at his beloved ‘Mount Hope’, so named because it "don’t Mount to much, but we Hope it don't fall down." That home provided him with his treasured privacy. He lived there for three decades, and it was there that he married his beloved Christine. Mr. and Mrs. Boran later moved to their spacious old farmstead, which had been converted into a gracious, venerable country estate in the Blue Ridge Highlands of Southwest Virginia’s Patrick County near the tiny, charming mountain town of Woolwine. He built a recording studio and produced two albums of his interpretations of rock and soul standards. He had a love of doing challenging crossword puzzles. In the 1990s, he was published twice for his clever creations of ‘The Puzzle’ in the Washington Post Magazine.
He was a man with an engaging and sly sense of humor, who could tell you a joke heard a hundred times and still evoke laughter. He loved teaching, particularly history, and generations of students found him the most valuable teacher of their high school years. He had a talent for friendship and could be either gregarious or a quiet and patient listener. Loyal to a fault, he exemplified an enduring caring for his friends, expecting no return on such investment of time. As a friend, he was ever present and always available. His role model and hero was Thomas Jefferson, as founding father of the country and the University of Virginia -- evidence of his values.
He and Christine spent his last years enjoying their dogs and cats and the wildlife in Woolwine at their ‘Woolwine House’. When he wasn't cooking and listening to blues songs, Mike could be found relaxing by the pond or rumbling through the woods in his four-wheeler or sitting in his parlor reading writings of Henry David Thoreau and listening to classical music. He found his peace living the quiet life inside the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Mike is survived by his wife Christine, son Andy Boran, daughter Nancy Travers, brothers Paul and Ed, and three grandchildren Travers Eubank, Ann Gardner Eubank, and Luke Boran. He also leaves behind a legion of friends and students who will never forget his open mind, quick wit, and his generosity. He will be sorely missed by the many whose lives he made richer.
Per Mr. Boran’s wishes, no formal funeral services will be held. Christine will be compiling a creative memory book honoring her late husband. She requests anyone wishing to submit cards, letters, notes, stories, and photos for this unique memory collection honoring his life may do so by sending them to P.O. Box 314, Woolwine, VA, 24185. The family requests that memorial gifts be made to Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care, 18981 Jeb Stuart Hwy, Stuart, VA 24171. Online condolences may also be sent by visiting www.moodyfuneralservices.com.