Roger John Wiebe

Madison: Roger J. Wiebe passed away at Heritage Memory Care in Middleton, on Wednesday August 13, 2014 at the age of 74. Roger was born on January 16, 1940, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was the son of James H. and Evelyn L (Strommen) Wiebe. His early years were spent in a number of cities including Omaha, NE, where he attended Omaha North. In his freshman and sophomore years he set school records and competed in the state track meet. His family moved to Madison, WI for his last years of high school where he graduated from West High School in 1958. At West High School, Roger was a guard on the basketball team that was state runner- up his junior year and state quarter-finalist his senior year. He starred on the cross country and track teams, qualifying for state in the mile medley relay and was a top finisher in the mile. He earned a track and cross country scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, where he attended for two years before transferring to Luther College in Decorah, IA. There he would pursue his love of basketball. Roger played varsity basketball and baseball his remaining years at Luther College, and graduated in 1964 with a BA degree in social studies educ...[more]

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on. He returned to Madison, to attend graduate school at the University of Wisconsin with an internship in teaching at Central High School. At Central, he coached football under Wayne "Knobby" Kelliher, and basketball under Bob "Boomer" Harris. His first teaching and coaching job took him to Wisconsin Rapids, where he assisted Jack Cepek with the varsity basketball team. The team advanced to the state championship final game against Milwaukee Lincoln. He was the head baseball coach and his team went to the state finals. His tenure at Rapids was brief, as an opportunity brought him back to teaching and coaching in Madison. In 1971, after stints at both Central and Madison Memorial, he returned to his alma mater, West High School. There he assisted his mentor, Jim Stevens, with the varsity basketball team for 18 years. He took the helm of the basketball program in 1990. During the next 8 years, his teams would make 4 state tournament appearances, including a state championship in 1992. That year, the Wisconsin State High School Basketball Association voted him "Coach of the Year". He was later inducted into the Wisconsin High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Madison Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. Roger coached both girls and boys golf at West. His girl's golf teams won two state titles and his boy's golf teams won four state titles. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 1997. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Roger served as Madison West's Athletic Director from 1977-1994. Although Roger truly loved coaching, teaching was his greatest passion. He had an "open door" policy in his classroom as a meeting place for students who needed a helping hand or a sympathetic shoulder. It was in this setting that he made lasting connections with students over the years. ' After retiring in 1997, Roger was able to pursue the activities that had taken a back seat during his busy career. These included golfing and his avid love for fishing, especially at the family cottage in the North Woods. His favorite times were when he could enjoy these activities with his wife, brothers, children, and grandchildren. Roger loved to help people, and had a line-up of neighbors for whom he would shovel snow, cut grass, or just put newspapers up on their porch in the rain. His loyal golden retriever, Ally, would watch on as he made his way around the neighborhood. Roger is predeceased by his brother, Robert; mother, Evelyn; father, James; sister-in-law, Gay Wiebe; brother-in-law, Charles Thomas. Roger is survived by Nancy, his loving wife of 56 years and his three children; Jon (Joyce), Mark (Liz), and Kristin (Mark Modaff) Braska. He is lovingly remembered by his five grandchildren; Ryan, Molly, and Michael Wiebe, Kyle and Austin Braska; siblings, James, Betty Thomas, Don (Gay), Cheryl (Charles) Lieferman, many nieces, nephews, and cousins, and a special "adopted son", Shelton Kingcade. A visitation will be held at Cress Funeral Home from 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. on Sunday August 17, 2014 at 6021 University Ave, Madison, WI. The memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday August 18, 2014 at Bethel Lutheran Church at 312 Wisconsin Ave, Madison, WI, with Pastor Curt Everson officiating. A luncheon will be served immediately following the service in Borgwardt Hall at Bethel. The family would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to the loving care Roger received at the Heritage Memory Care Facility in Middleton and to the Agrace Hospice team. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Agrace Hospice, or Bethel Lutheran Church.