Roger Lee Jeseritz

To know Roger was to know that he was a person who maintained a sense of humor about most everything. Whether it was a humorous whisper in the back of the church, or a well-timed impression of Elvis, he was able to see the lighter side of situations even as he succumbed to Parkinson’s disease on Thursday, August 16th at Jefferson Memory Care in Jefferson, WI. 

Roger was born on May 6th, 1968 in Detroit, Michigan to Bill and Joan Carr, but his family moved shortly thereafter to Hartland, Wisconsin, where he was raised. Roger graduated from Arrowhead High School in 1986, and went on to complete his undergraduate degree in Social Work at UW-Whitewater before earning his Master’s degree in the same area of study from UW-Madison. Roger’s sense of humor was coupled with a gift for comforting people in the midst of personal crisis, a trait that he drew upon as a social worker for Manitowoc and Richland counties, and then as a certified nursing assistant for Dodge County. Roger finished his working career at the Walmart distribution center in Beaver Dam, WI. 

Heading into his senior year of high school, Roger was washing dishes at the Country Inn (now Ingleside Hotel) when a cute bus girl named Amy Jeseritz caught his attention. After a first date that required a neighbor to come pull their car out of a snowdrift, the two bonded over a shared sense of humor and love of movies. In 1995 they would return to get married at the same place they first met and worked. 

Amy and Roger’s marriage of almost 29 years produced three wonderful humans–Ross, Charlie, and Henry. His children brought him true joy, and he counted times watching any of their extra-curricular activities as they grew up some of his most enjoyable. In addition to his children, he delighted in a particularly well-grilled brat, old John Wayne movies, and ad-libbing song lyrics in the car on road trips with Amy. His original version of “Down Came A Blackbird” will live on in family lore as long as the VHS tape, and those who watched it, hold out. 

In addition to his wife and children, Roger is survived by his daughter-in-law Haylie, and sisters Sherry, Laurel, Tammie and Bonny. He is preceded in death by his father Bill, mother Joan, brother Dave, and brother-in-law Charlie. 

Please help celebrate Roger’s life at a visitation from 3:00-5:00 pm, followed immediately by a memorial service on Friday, August 23rd, at Schmutzler-Vick Funeral Home, 500 Welsh Road, Watertown, WI. The family wants to extend their sincere gratitude to Rainbow Hospice and Jefferson Memory Care for their excellent care of Roger over the past several years. 

“Love has no age, no limit, and no death” - John Galsworthy