Roger "Rog" LeRoy Howard was born September 11, 1938 in Currie, MN to Frederick "Fred" Howard & Ragna "Raggie" Howard who already had two older sisters, Elaine "Toots" and Leota. He was a handful for them (being the only son) and was either climbing trees, throwing rocks at things he shouldn't have, getting in fights with the older kids, or just being plain mischievous. They all lived in a converted railroad car until it got too crowded with all of them and the pets that Roger would drag home & his folks couldn't turn away (which he continued to do throughout his life).

After that time, they moved into a house with a storm cellar which is a good thing in Southwest MN. He attended a Catholic school in the hopes that it would give him an outlet for his energy (apparently worked), because when he became old enough, Fred asked him to be on his crew to put in sewage processing plants in MN, WI, MI & IA. It was fate that while on a visit to WI that he met & became friends with Alvin Kastens from Nye, WI. It was at a visit to Al's home that he met Marcella "Marcy" (who was impressed by his 1957 Chevy more than she was with him at the time). She became the love of his life and on April 4, 1959 they were married and lived with Fred & Raggie so that when Roger was traveling for the job, Marcy would stay at home instead of being alone. They were only able to have 1 child, a daughter Lynn Marie who traveled with them until it was time to settle down in Osceola, WI which would be the place where they resided together until Marcy passed away on March 9, 2017. Roger was able to stay in Osceola with the help of neighbors, Trinity congregation and neighbors Nancy & Rodney Peterson until he took a bad fall which started his health decline and what finally caused him to move to MN to be near Lynn. He missed his visits with his sister-in-law, Dorothy Heichel who had become one of his best friends when Marcy passed away but he knew that she couldn’t drive that far to come & visit without the help of others.

He passed away June 5, 2025 while under Hospice care at Cerenity in White Bear Lake after giving Lynn the best gift of all, time to sit with him while he transitioned into the next world and talk about all of the things they had done together, heal old wounds & let them go and most of all, to say Goodbye and know that he had heard it every time, for that she will be eternally grateful.

He had many varied jobs in his life but, construction was his favorite and he lived to discuss the equipment and many places he had traveled with anyone who was willing to listen. He loved taking care of his lawn, planting flowers, feeding the squirrels his leftover "crunchies", watching over the neighborhood and especially the winters where he got to blow snow with his huge snow blower. The TV was his entertainment with NFL football being his favorite and the Raiders have always been his favorite team “I don’t know why, they just are” per Roger.

He especially enjoyed visits with neighbors, friends from Church and visits with family (especially his Grandson, Matthew). He was so proud of him and bragged about him and all he had accomplished whenever he could.

He leaves to mourn his daughter Lynn (Craig) Johnson, Grandson Matthew (Meghan Baasch) & Great Grandson Beau Strese, former son-in-law, Randy Strese, best friend Dorothy Heichel and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Marcella, his Father, Fred, Mother Raggie, sister’s Elaine Engen and Leota Oslund along with all of the dogs & cats that crossed the Rainbow Bridge before him that were all waiting to meet him on the other side.

Family would like to express their appreciation to Pastor Rosenow from Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Osceola), Rodney & Nancy Peterson for watching over him after Marcy passed away until he moved to MN, all of the staff at Cerenity who took care of him during his Assisted Living stay to the Memory Care Unit (Evergreen) while he was a resident there. Also, words cannot express how much the staff at HealthPartners Hospice & Palliative Care took such good care of him and us. It was a comfort to know that they had everything handled and all we had to do was show up to spend as much time with him until his days were over.

Last Update: Jun 09, 2025 8:42 am CDT