Theodore (Ted) Wayne Rollins, age 58, passed away August 15, 2021 at Emory University Hospital in the Rollins Pavilion after a 10-month brave battle with cancer.
He was born in 1962 in Wilmington, DE. He is survived by his loving wife Holly M. Rollins and children: Sarah Rollins, Emma Rollins and stepsons Eric Parrish, Zac Parrish and Ethan Matheson and grandson Samuel White. His mother is Linda K. Prickett and was predeceased by his father John W. Rollins, Sr, siblings James Rollins and John W. Rollins Jr.
Michele Rollins is his stepmother and he has 10 other siblings: Catherine Searby, Patrick E. Rollins, Jeffrey W. Rollins, Michele Rollins Slafano, Monique Rollins, Michael M. Rollins and Marc M. Rollins, Annie P. Renzetti, Priscilla Cook and William Prickett.
Ted was a brilliant visionary, entrepreneur, philanthropist, accomplished musician and friend to many around the world. He was also a treasured husband, son, father, brother as well as mentor to hundreds. Ted’s first job as a teenager was carrying the bags for Johnny Cash when he was on tour and ultimately performing with him. Ted attended The Citadel and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in business administration before receiving his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He then started his career in New York as an investment banker focusing on real estate finance. He later co-founded Campus Crest with his business school classmate, Mike Harnett and grew an idea into a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange with over 50,000 beds in the US and Canada in over 70 markets with assets in both joint venture and wholly-owned properties in excess of $2.3 billion dollars. In the mid-2010s, after Ted helped take Campus Crest public with Harrison Street, he founded Valeo, starting first with operations in England before expanding it into Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Ireland and the United States.
He served on the boards of Fortegra and Rollins Jamaica, among others. His boundless energy, fun-loving and benevolent spirit is captured eloquently in his motto he used for business and life: Work Hard. Have Fun. Help Others.
It is important to note he was greatly influenced by other larger-than-life relatives, mentors and leaders, including: father, John W. Rollins, Sr, cousin R. Randall Rollins, John R Cash and brother John W. Rollins Jr.
His vision for building communities and providing great residential experiences has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and will continue to do so for generations.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ted Rollins Eco Scholarship fund
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