He was born on April 5, 1929, in Madison, Morris County, New Jersey, the son of Jay Pardee Rolison (died 1987) and Margaret (Denman) Rolison (1900–1969).
[1] He attended Seton Hall Preparatory School, and graduated B.A.
from Fordham Law School in 1954, and then worked for two years in the Judge Advocate General's Office at Fort Gordon.
Afterwards he practiced law in Poughkeepsie, New York and entered politics as a Republican.
He became Assistant Majority Leader in 1985[4] He died on August 29, 2007, at his home in the Town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York.