Roger James Houser

Roger James Houser was born on June 20, 1950, to Lorayne (Gilles) and Jimmie Houser in St. Paul, Minnesota. He grew up in the family’s long-time home on Gentry Avenue. He died in that same home on August 28, 2013, peacefully in his sleep and of natural causes. Roger attended St. Paul North High School, then Abilene Christian University in Texas where he earned a degree in secondary education and mathematics. He later earned a masters degree in school administration from North Texas University. While Roger was a student at Abilene Christian, he met and married Elizabeth Herod. They had two children, Cory Michael and Maegan J’Lea. He was a good and loving father to them throughout his life and they considered him their best friend. Roger taught school at the middle school and high school levels for several years in Hamlin, Texas, and Fort Worth, Texas. He was known as a great math teacher to kids who often didn’t like math, teaching them their multiplication tables with some unorthodox, but effective, motivational techniques. He even brought his drum set to school and gave free lessons to the kids when they succeeded at math. When Roger left teaching he started a currier and moving business which he successfully operated for two years. Then he entered the computer programming field, which would be his area of expertise for the rest of his carrier. He began working for the Lawson Corporation as a network computer programmer, and became a self-taught expert in a software system. His services were often in demand because of that knowledge. Later, he took a job with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system as a computer systems specialist. In 1998, Roger made a major change in his life, leaving his job in Dallas to move back to his roots in Minnesota. He moved in with his aging parents to provide the care and comfort they needed, and allow them to continue to live in their own home. In 2001, Roger was a primary care-giver for his mother during her short illness that led to her hospitalization and death. He also provided home care to his son, Cory, when he faced a very serious health crisis. And through the last several years, Roger continued to care for his father at home through heart surgery and various other ailments until his father’s passing just three weeks before Roger’s own death. Roger gave 15 years of his own life to near full-time caring for his family. At the time of his death, Roger was joyously anticipating moving to Florida for the winter. He was going to be near his long-time close friend Art Delemos, and they were making many plans for the sunshine, beaches, and even a trip to South America. Many regret that Roger will not fulfill those plans. Throughout his life, Roger enjoyed many outdoor activities, and was always up for a backyard game of basketball or touch football – even sometimes in the snow! Later, the backyard football games turned into a field goal kicking contest, usually on Thanksgiving Day. He was a good kicker, and his fiercely competitive spirit meant he usually won the kicking competition, as he did most other competitions. Roger especially enjoyed annual summer treks to Dallas for a day-long “jock day” with friends there. The day was full of various sporting competitions, and the friends marveled at the youthful gusto Roger brought to the event, even as he became the oldest participant. He still outperformed most of them. He gave the day so much enthusiasm that one year he ruptured his Achilles tendon. Only then did he slow down. His real love in later years became disc golf. Most days, he was on a course alone early in the morning with his dogs as his walking companions. Later, he might play another round with disc golf friends. And he was always searching for discs that other players may have lost in weeds or thickets or streams or ponds. He wasn’t afraid to wade into head-high water feeling around on the bottom for lost discs. He kept most of them (there was an occasional sale), amassing a collection of over 1,000. And once a year in recent years, Roger made a journey with his friends to a Wisconsin disc golf complex where they stayed in a cabin and played several different courses over a long weekend. He loved the camaraderie and the sport, and his friends often referred to him as “the best disc golfer ever.” Roger also loved camping, and made journeys into the northern Minnesota Boundary Waters area with family and friends. He loved the pristine solitude of that area, and he loved to fish. He also was the chief cook on those trips, spending days ahead of time planning and preparing for meals at the campsite. It was on one of those trips that Roger discovered a beautiful rocky stream flowing downhill between two lakes near the Canadian border, and declared it as the place he wanted his remains taken for their final place of rest. Roger is survived by his two children, Cory (and his wife Tracy) and Maegan (and her partner and best friend Jed Scibek), both of the Ft. Worth, Texas, area; his brother Donald Houser of Oakdale, Minnesota; brother-in-law Gene Johnston of Indianola, Iowa; nieces Samantha Houser and Jill Young; nephews Kevin Johnston, Wes Johnston, Chad Houser, and Elliot Houser. Roger was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Janette Houser Johnston. He was a “glue” that held his family together, and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.