Kevin Rowland, Twinbrook Store Owner, Dies

The store was closed Wednesday, but customers left bouquets, balloons and notes outside the Baskin Robbins in the Twinbrook Shopping Center on Braddock Road in Fairfax.

Storeowner George Kevin Rowland died there on Tuesday.  He was 56.  The retired Army Major will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

Rowland's father told Burke Patch his son recently learned his cancer had returned.  "He suffered through three different types of cancer and was in remission," said James Rowland.  "When he found out he was out of remission, he told his sister he wasn't going to go through that again." Kevin's sister, Deborah Kay, is his twin.

Kevin Rowland was born on July 17, 1955. He graduated from in 1975, and then attended Morehead State University in Kentucky.  He was a Distinguished Military Graduate. He served 16 years in the Army, with appointments in Europe and the United States, including Ft. Belvoir. 

James Rowland, Kevin's father, said the family will be forming a foundation to benefit the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in Kevin's honor.  "He loved dogs and he loved the ASPCA," said James Rowland.  "He had three American Eskimo Spitz he rescued from the kennels, and he loved them."

Customers recalled Kevin having his last dog at the store with him.  It recently died.

Mary Rowland, Kevin's mother, died several years ago.  A foundation in her honor provides a onesie for every newborn at Ft. Belvoir Hospital, where she volunteered for many years.

James Rowland said he hopes to reopen the Twinbrook Baskin Robbins on Thursday afternoon, October 27.