Roger was born and raised in Dallas county, Iowa.  He has lived with his wife, Deb, in their Southpark home since 1979.  He has been married to Deb for 36 years and they have 2 sons, Nick and Chris, and 1 daughter-in-law, Kristi.

He enlisted in the Army in 1968 and served in Vietnam Conflict 1968-1970, mostly as a helicopter mechanin and then spent one year serving in Germany as a warehouse supervisor.   He then joined the Iowa Army National Guard in 1986 and later served in Iraq from June 2006 to August 2007 as a member of the 1034th CSSB.    Roger also worked full time at Camp Dodge, Johnston, IA for 24 years as a Material Examiner and Identifier at the CSMS IOWA ARNG.    Roger retired from both jobs at the end of December 2008.    

Roger is active in the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 490, Des Moines, Iowa for the last 18 years.  He is the current President of Chapter 490, and has held that position as well as many other positions on the board through the years.     He visits with veterans in Iowa prisons as a part of an outreach program and participates in VVA programs observing Memorial Day and Veterans Day held on the capitol grounds each year.   He also represents Veterans and their issues in discussions with our legislators.

Roger is an active member of the South Park Neighborhood Association.  He is on several committees and helps out at neighborhood functions.  Most recently he successfully organized a community garden clean up for Southpark's Neighborhood garden at SE14th Street and McKinley Avenue.