Roger Myers, 69, of Winner, SD passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 1st, 2023 in Winner, SD.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at the Winner 4-H Center in Winner, SD. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023 from 6-7 p.m. with a 7 p.m.prayer service at the Christ Lutheran Church in Winner, SD. Funeral Services will be live streamed through the Mason Funeral Home Facebook page.
Roger Keith Myers, was born on Feb. 18, 1953, in Gregory, SD, the third son, and sixth child to Keith and Lois (Smith) Myers. Roger was taken from his loving family on Feb. 1, 2023, the result of a one vehicle accident south of Winner, SD.
Roger was baptized into the loving arms of Jesus Christ on April 5, 1953, by Pastor Kenneth C Farr in Dallas, SD.
Roger delighted his children with stories of his youth growing up on the family place north of Dixon, SD. He loved his childhood in rural South Dakota, walking to Dixon Dam to spend the evening catching fish he would never eat or playing baseball as a proud Dixon Dodger.
Not known for his table manners, a young Roger retaliated against sister Lois Ann coaxing him to eat his vegetables once by launching peas across the table at her. He didn’t anticipate a well-timed duck and the buttered peas landed on the wall where it left its permanent stain. The incident was shared many times around the dinner table, a night filled with laughter, some form of punishment but ultimately, the family love that permeated their small home.
Roger attended District 57 Dixon Elementary. He graduated Gregory High School in 1971 and attended South Dakota State University, in Brookings, SD to pursue a degree in Animal Science. Not only did Roger become a lifelong Jackrabbits fan, but he met the love of his life at Hobo Days in October 1973. On June 26, 1976, Roger and Marlene Geigle were united in marriage at First Lutheran Church, in Wall, SD.
Soon after the wedding the couple moved to Frazee, MN where he was employed with Daggett Trucking. A few months later the couple relocated to Dickinson, ND. Though Roger loved driving truck, he didn’t want that lifestyle to raise a family. In 1978, Roger and Marlene made their home northeast of Clearfield, SD. There was so much snow on the ground that January, they didn’t know they had a sidewalk until the following spring.
Two weeks later, after a long drive behind a snowplow, daughter Sherri joined the family. That next spring, while the family loaded out their first crop of calves to sell, Melanie chose that day to make her entrance. Roger and Marlene were getting used to their two-brown haired/brown eyed daughters and didn’t realize how much the arrival of a special blonde they named Michelle would change the family dynamic for the better. Roger embraced being a “girl” dad for eight years, teaching his daughters the importance of hard work and responsibility, but giving them enough wiggle room to have some great adventures on the place. While Roger and two other families were out moving cows, the end cap to the family, Jay, decided to arrive eight years later.
Roger’s parents instilled the love of 4-H into his children’s lives. It wasn’t a hobby you tried out as an 8-year-old but a lifelong commitment to Head, Heart, Hands and Health. He participated in showing all types of livestock and developed a passion that later would become the center of all family vacations. He shared stories how his parents would take him to the South Dakota State Fair, drop them off on Sunday, only to return the day they showed their animals. The kids were free to roam all day on the midway if the animals were taken care of. At night, they slept in the back of the farm truck next to the cattle barns. His biggest 4-H accomplishment was showing a market steer at the International Livestock Show in Chicago, IL.
Roger was a leader of the Clovervale 4-H Club, where his children were members. His proudest memories were the kids showing his Registered Polled Herefords and a variety of market steers. Showing livestock soon expanded from the Mid Dakota Fair to feeder calf shows held in Gregory, Valentine, and Stuart. They also took the family on the road to the Central States Fair, the South Dakota State Fair and the annual family vacation at Western Junior Livestock Show in Rapid City each fall. Roger took this opportunity to renew old friendship, for when he showed livestock during his youth. WJLS was not just a Myers family vacation destination but a Tripp County 4-H family vacation. These traditions with their nuclear and 4-H extended family formed bonds that lasted a lifetime and were ones Roger cherished.
Roger took pride in his small herd of Registered Polled Hereford cattle. He fed out calves each fall until spring and also sold his yearling bulls all over the Midwest. His family hosted the SD Junior Hereford Field Days in Winner as well as participating in two different SD Hereford Association Hereford Tours.
A servant by nature, Roger was a Tripp County 4-H leader of the Clovervale 4-H Club, Tripp County Fair Board leader and member. He was also a board member of the Rosebud Hereford Association, South Dakota Hereford Association, and served as an advisor to the South Dakota Junior Hereford Association and at the Western Junior Livestock Show. He also served as a Clerk and Supervisor for Dog Ear Township.
In his short retirement, he spent evenings playing cards with his children and their spouses, talking to other cattleman across the area on his tablet or he could be found at the Ampride, Lil’ Feller (now the Gus Stop) having coffee with the other retired ranchers and farmers. The guys enjoyed lively conversations about beef and grain prices, politics, and fond memories of those that couldn’t make it to coffee going forward.
Roger is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, Marlene (Geigle) Myers of Winner, SD. His daughter Sherri and Doug Mayes, grandchildren Setiva, Billy, Milo, Miley, and Lovey of Winner, SD. His daughter Melanie and Lane Bartels, and grandson Hank of Tea, SD. His daughter Michelle (Shelly) and Lynn Junck, and grandson Dean of Carroll, NE. His son Jay and Sarah Myers, and grandson Christopher of Winner, SD. Siblings Vil Roy and Doris Myers of Frazee, MN. Larry and Donna Myers of Tyler, MN. Linda Myers of Hudson, FL. Lela and Dan Platt of Wadena, MN. Lois Ann Quail of Worland, WY. Rebecca Zimmerman of Gregory, SD. Alvina Federwitz of Waxhwa, NC, August and Mary Geigle of Parkston, SD and Patti and Ray Greenseth of Murdo, SD. Roger was also survived by many nephews and nieces and grandnephews and grandnieces, many more friends and family, plus many friends that became family.
Roger was welcomed into heaven by his parents, Keith and Lois Myers, his in-laws Otto and Brigitta (Denke) Geigle. Brother-in-law’s Carl Geigle, Jerry Axemaker, Dale Federwitz, Bill Goodwin, Richard “Dick” Zimmerman, and Irwin “Butch” Quail, his sister-in-law Zenda Geigle, and young niece Amy Quail.
We ask that you remember Roger by this verse from one of his favorite songs:
And there’s bound to be rough waters, and I know I’ll take some falls,
but with the good Lord as my captain, I can make it through them all.
Loading ...