"Dear Phil,Jerry and families~ Our thoughts and prayers are with you. May God's peace comfort you at this time. Blessings. "
In loving memory of
Roger J. Menke
September 5, 2010
Burial will be in St. John's Catholic Cemetery ~ Bancroft, Iowa
Roger John Menke was born in Swea City on July 12, 1946 to Leander Joseph and his spouse, Esther Mary (Schiltz) Menke, the seventh of 10 children. He grew up on the family farm between Swea City and Bancroft, attending St. John's Grade and High Schools in Bancroft. After overcoming some health problems in early adulthood, he attended Loras College and graduated from the University of Detroit (now the University of Detroit-Mercy) with a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering in 1969.
Roger worked as a co-op engineering student with General Motors Corporation from May 1966 thru his graduation. After he got his bachelor's degree, he continued working for that company, accumulating 35 years of service before retiring. Roger then moved to Cedar Rapids where he and several brothers built a duplex condominium for Roger and his brother, Jim.
He enjoyed traveling and visiting his many nephews and nieces in the Midwest. Almost every Christmas, he visited nephews and nieces, and later, grand nephews and grandnieces.
Roger was preceded in death by his parents, Leander and Esther (Schiltz) Menke and two brothers, Cletus Nicholas and Carl Leo.
Roger J. Menke died Sunday, September 5, 2010 at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, at the age of 64.
He is survived by five brothers and two sisters, Maurice Joseph Menke and his spouse Charlene of Albuquerque, NM, Rachel Rose Weber of Orland Park, IL, James Arthur (Jim) Menke and his spouse Sharon of Cedar Rapids, Jerome Arnold Menke and his spouse Rita of Algona, Philip Joseph Menke and spouse Sandra of Algona, Russell Dominic Menke and spouse Linda Harrison of Spokane, WA, and Rita Mildred Schroeder and spouse Jim of Richmond, MN; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and other family and friends.
Tributes
"To all the family of Roger Menke: My condolences to all of you. I am the daughter of Elmer Menke and Henry B Menke of Fonda, IA. I can't say that I personally knew Roger, but I remember Rachel very as she is about a year older than I am. So sorry Mary Rose Menke Vollrath San Diego"
"Menke family, My sympathy and prayers to all the family at Roger's passing. Greetings especially to Jim and Jerry who were in my class at St. John's."
"Oh I was so surprised to hear about Roger. I worked with him at GM (Argonaut group)for several years and after his retirement was pleased to see him again at the Argonaut retiree luncheon. He was a very intelligent, quiet, unassuming guy, well respected and admired by his friends and enginnering peers. My heartfelt sympathy and prayers go out to Roger's family at this most difficult time. "
"My sympathies to the Menke family. I grew up on the Deitering farm, right across the road from the Menke farm, and we spent lots of time at each other's house. My brother Joe and I were especially close to Carl, and I was in the same class as Jimmy and Jerry. I just lately received an old photo of our 4-H club from 1956 or 1957, and 4 of the Menke boys are in the photo, including Roger. My best wishes to the family. "
"Roger and I worked together in the Argonaut Civil/Structural Department at General Motors. We both moved to Shreveport, Louisiana for two years as part of the onsite construction team for a new assembly plant there. In his long GM career he was the lead civil engineer on numerous large projects, including the Saturn Plant in Tennessee which was one of GM's largest single construction projects ever. Roger was the epitome of the Professional Civil Engineer. He was very smart, well educated, experienced, thorough in his engineering approach, always on top of the latest technology, precise in his calculations, and always prepared. Everyone at Argonaut - and all the non-GM construction team members - respected Roger and knew they were one step ahead of the game if their project team included him. No matter how tough or unusual the problem, we all knew that Roger could come up with the best solution possible. Roger's death is personally tough to accept, but I know it cannot match the feeling of loss his family shares at this time. I pray for Roger, his family, and all who grieve over his untimely passing. We will all miss him."
"It was with deep sorrow that I learned today of Roger's passing. I was privileged to work with Roger at Argonaut Division General Motors for over 30 years. He was always the consumate gentleman and a very co-operative colleauge. I enjoyed seeing Roger whenever he was in the Detroit area at our monthly retirees luncheon. I consider myself a better person for having known him. My best wishes to his family and freinds. "