Roger Lee Maag was born at Vona, Colorado on January 2, 1940. His parents, Ernie and Leta Maag had been married seven years before they welcomed their only child. When Roger was seven years old, they moved to the farm that Roger and Sharon live on. Growing up Roger helped his parents raise cattle, pigs and chickens, dogs and cats while farming dry land corn, wheat and milo. When Roger started High School in Joes, his dad Ernie, sold all their cattle and pigs and Ernie began his career as a school bus driver so he could attend all of Roger’s football, basketball and track events and Roger would not miss any practices due to taking care of animals, In Roger’s four years of high school at Joes he and the team went to State Basketball in Denver at the Coliseum three times. What a great experience for a small town group of high school boys.
After graduating High School in 1958 Roger attended college at UNC in Greeley for three weeks and hated it and came back to Joes to help his parents farm because the big city life was not for him. The owner of the Kirk State Bank hired Roger in December of 1958 to teach him first hand how to work in an agricultural bank, which was quite different from city banks. Roger’s career led him to 44 years of working with local farmers and ranchers and every day he was up early and eager to help his customers make a success of their operations and grow their families.
In 1964 Roger was drafted into the Army, which was during the Vietnam era, but he was fortunate to stay state side and did basic training at Fort Ord, California and then sent to Anchorage, Alaska to Fort Richardson Army headquarters to work of all places in the bank on the Army base. The great Alaskan Earthquake hit the evening of March 27, 1964 being on Good Friday that year and Roger along with his buddies were called out to help with the devastation that that occurred that day. Roger spent two years in Alaska and then back to Joes to be on inactive duty until 1969.
Roger went back to work at the Kirk State Bank as soon as he arrived from Alaska. Roger was then transferred to the Holyoke Bank and Trust Company where he spent two years then transferred back to the Kirk State Bank. During the years that followed Roger was very active in the Liberty School by running the score clocks at football and basketball games and golfing at the Plainsmen Golf Course on the weekly team.
In the summer of 1975 Roger met Sharon Welty at the Holyoke Church of Christ during an Open House and area wide singing since they had just completed building their new church building. Roger’s cousin, Bob Rogers of Holyoke had just recently moved his family from Sterling to Holyoke and had worshiped with a widow named Sharon and her two sons who had moved from Casper, Wyoming to Sterling and attend the same church as Bob’s family. Then began a courtship, and Roger and Sharon were married at the Sterling Church on June 5, 1976. Roger and Sharon honeymooned in Honolulu, Hawaii while Bob’s family kept Michael, age 12 and Terry, age 8. Roger not only got a wife but two sons and for a single guy at age 36 this was a new adventure.
Roger’s parents gave up their house of being only 12 old that they built while Roger was in the Army in Alaska. His parents willingly moved into a small house in Joes. Roger was a substitute bus driver for Liberty and drove the booster bus while his new family attended Liberty School. He was also on the Kirk Cooperative Store Board for many years and continued running the score clock at Liberty games. Roger served on the West Yuma County School board as Liberty’s representative during Michael’s four years of high school. Roger served on the Liberty Accountability Board along with his son Terry while Terry was in high school along with being on the FFA Advisory Board. Roger was the high school basketball coach for the boys from 1993 – 1995 and assistant coach for the high school girls basketball for one year. Roger served on the Arickaree Ground Water Board for many years and was secretary – treasurer for the Plainsmen Golf Club at Joes – Kirk for many many years and served on the Grassroots Foundation Board for a number of years. After retiring from the bank Roger began working as the groundskeeper of the Plainsmen Golf Course until two years ago when the work became too much as he grew older. Then he had time to help Sharon with their huge yard of flowers and lawn moving.
Roger was baptized at the age of 18 and his love for God was extremely important to him. He was a member of the Joes Church of Christ and had been an active member of the Wray Church of Christ since 1990. He was always willing to serve in any capacity of church work.
Roger’s health began to fail this past December and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Disease, gallbladder stones, advanced kidney disease and after gallbladder surgery his health issues along with his dementia increased and spent the last six weeks in the Northern Colorado Hospital in Greeley, Yuma District Hospital, Wray Community Hospital and finally Hillcrest Care Center in Wray where he passed away the night of July 2, 2020.
Roger is survived by his wife, Sharon of Joes, Colorado; son Michael Welty of Joes, Colorado; son, Terry Welty of Boulder, Colorado; cousin, Penny Burkhard of Greeley and many cousins, relative and friends in Metro Denver, Greeley and Wray and best friend, Mike Hindman of Gypsum, Colorado.
Memorial donations in Roger’s memory can be made to: Grassroots in Joes; and/ or Plainsmen Golf Club of Joes and Kirk; and /or Wray Church of Christ in Wray, Colorado. Memorials will be greatly appreciated.
The funeral service was held at the Grassroots Community Park on Friday July 10, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The interment was at the Yuma Cemetery. Baucke Funeral Home directed the service.
2020-07-16