Roger Cantrell Brown was born to Alvin Brown and Virginia (Morton) Brown on October 27, 1940 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Lord called him home on November 21, 2021.
He was raised outside of Omaha. He and his twin brother Phillip went to school in rural Douglas County and graduated from West Side High School in 1958. Roger began working for the Union Pacific Railroad when he was seventeen.
His parents wanted him to attend college and he received a school deferment to attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. To keep his job at Union Pacific he transferred to the Omaha Campus and graduated with a degree in Journalism in 1963.
In December of 1965 Roger enlisted in the Army. He began his service as a photographer for a Criminal Investigation Division. He went on the serve in the 157th Artillery Unit and ended his six year career in the military working as a Motor sergeant for the 244th Engineering Battalion.
Roger knew he wanted to be a patrolman from a young age. He was unable to get hired with the Nebraska State Patrol because he wore glasses, so he moved to Colorado and began with the Colorado State Patrol on April 22, 1968.
His first duty station was in Gunnison, and then moved to Montrose. After a couple of years in Montrose he was promoted to Sergeant and relocated to Durango where he met and married Susan in 1977. Roger, Susan and Mike moved to Castle Rock in 1978, and Jeff was born in 1979. They lived in Castle Rock for 10 years and then transferred to Yuma.
Roger described himself as a country boy and said it felt like coming home when he transferred to Yuma. He remained a Sergeant on the Colorado State Patrol until his retirement in 1998, after 30 years on the Patrol.
He was appointed as the Yuma County Emergency Manager in 1991 and held the position for 30 years. Throughout his tenure with Yuma County Roger received a number of awards for his dedication to the community. Yuma County was the first “Storm Ready” county in the state, along with being the first county to establish communications across state lines, with both Kansas and Nebraska. Most recently Roger received the Colorado state Ambassador of the Year award for his efforts to ensure that the Emergency Management website was translated to Spanish, and just this year was the recipient of the Ambassador of Excellence for the National Weather Service in the Goodland, Kansas forecast area.
Roger enjoyed spending time with his family, being an active member of the Buffalo Grass Church of the Nazarene, and serving on several community committees and boards. He served on the WY Communications Board, the 911 Authority Board, was a dedicated member of the Old Threshers Group, was on the Yuma Museum Board and was a member of the Resident Team of the Colorado Trust, just to name a few. He took great pride in serving his community, often securing grant funds for several local emergency organizations. He rarely missed a Rural Fire District or Yuma County EMS Council meeting. Particularly over the last two years Roger made sure the EMS crew had everything they needed, including a weekly newspaper. Even during his final hours Roger was concerned about the work he needed to get done to make sure everyone was taken care of.
Roger was preceded in death by his parents Alvin and Virginia, an infant sister, and his twin brother Phillip.
He is survived by his ex-wife Susan, son Michael and partner Kristie, son Jeffrey and his wife Nicole, and grandchildren Crystann, Sierra and Allan.
He will be greatly missed by many friends and colleagues. Roger requested Memorials be made to the Old Threshers Group, and Yuma Ambulance Service or the Yuma Museum.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 11, 2 p.m. at YMS gymnasium. A private inurnment will follow.
2021-12-10