Dr. Roger Blake Speegle

1944 - 2023

BORN

1944

DIED

2023

Roger Speegle Obituary

The family and friends of DR. ROGER BLAKE SPEEGLE, 79, who passed away September 11, 2023, will celebrate his life on Thursday, September 21st at 3:30 pm at Trinity Presbyterian Church at 2200 N. Bell in Denton, Texas.

Born in Decatur, Texas on June 2, 1944, Roger served as Director of the Intensive English Institute at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.

Survivors include Roger's sister Kathleen (Ed) Schmitt, his nephews Greg (Jill) and Darrin (Aletta) Speegle, his niece Karen (Gil) Quintanilla, and their children, Ursula (Paul) Carus, Erica Speegle (Quin Bedard), Mark (Krystina) Speegle, Alice Quintanilla, and Philip and Lisa Speegle.

Speegle was predeceased by his father, Robert E. Speegle, his mother, Katherine Sloan Speegle, his brother and sister-in-law Philip and Mary Speegle, his sister Roberta Speegle and his nephew Karl Schmitt.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new. 2 Corinthians 5.17

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Denton Record-Chronicle on Sep. 20, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for Roger Speegle

9 Entries

Frank Howson

March 6, 2024

Roger had a car at NTSU and he sometimes drove me to town. His father was the piano tuner for the Music Hall. Roger took a year off and went to Montpellier, France, then to Germany. I had never heard of Montpellier, but loved the name, so when I went to France to study the following year, I went to Montpellier. That choice changed the entire course of my life. I am sorry not to have seen Roger after our university days. He was always calm and cheerful, interesting and pleasant. I´m sorry he is gone.

Dr. John Baker

November 5, 2023

My deepest condolences to Kay and Ed, their family and all who loved Roger. What a loss it is to lose a dear friend of 60 years. Roger was a wonderful human being whose impact on my life was immeasurable and continuing: I am just now taking up the study of Chinese for about the fourth time, all due to meeting Roger at UT when he was taking Chinese (successfully, along with Greek) before seminary I would not have missed knowing Roger for anything. We shared an off-beat sense of humor and many tears of laughter at jokes, stories, and pranks over the years. I will never forget Roger and my late wife, Candy, and I reading Lord of the Rings aloud one summer long ago. The road leads ever on. Godspeed, dear friend

Dr. Volker Saftien

October 16, 2023

Dr. Volker Saftien
Roger and I were friends for fifty-five years. We first met in the fall of 1968 at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary where I spent a year as an ecumenical student and Roger was in the second year of his degree program. We struck up a friendship immediately. It started out when Roger, with his background in linguistics, every now and then gently pointed out mistakes that I, as a non-native speaker, tended to make in English. Soon, our talks progressed to and included a wider range of theological and psychological topics. For me, these discussions were uniquely valuable as the two of us were able to communicate with each other on a level and in a meaningful way that I had rarely experienced elsewhere. Through our talks, Roger also helped me to break free of the constraints of an unwise career choice I had made earlier and to find another career path that would ultimately satisfy me. This is something I cannot thank Roger enough for!

Roger and I both liked to travel:
We went to Mexico twice to study Spanish. In Europe, we spent time in Paris together, as well as in the French and the Swiss Alps. In the U.S., we took camping trips to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. In the spring of 1987, when I was at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Roger drove up from Texas to see me and we took several trips to the Oregon coast. A few years later, we both attended an Intercultural Workshop in Oregon. Both, Roger and his mom visited my family in Stuttgart, Germany. We visited him at TWU in Fort Worth. Shortly afterwards, I was fortunate enough to be able to arrange for Roger a three-month teaching assignment at the Language Center of the University Stuttgart where students loved his English classes.

Throughout the fifty-five years that I had known Roger, we were always in more or less regular contact - during the first years through letters, and later through emails. Over that span of five decades we carried on a conversation that touched on a multitude of topics from the areas of religion, philosophy, politics - whatever interested us - as well as reports from our personal lives. It was a stimulating exchange of thoughts and opinions that always meant a lot to me and that, over the years, reflected our changing views and concerns as we grew older and perhaps wiser. The last time I heard from Roger was as recently as one or two days prior to his death.

With Roger's passing, I lost my oldest and best friend. There is so much I owe to him. His death has left a big gap in my life, but I am comforted by the knowledge that he has found peace now.

Dr. Mike Smith

October 6, 2023

Roger and I were classmates at Austin Seminary. He was brilliant, one of the smartest, funniest people I have ever known. He was one of a group of friends in the men's dorm that was always having fun, always uproariously into something. He was the only person I've ever known that could whistle three-part harmony: Bach fugues, Mahler's Ninth Symphony, even Three Blind Mice. I played guitar, he played flute for hours in the dorm. Aside from all of that, he would dash off his class papers with casual elegance. We would go to Luby's Cafeteria in north Austin and he would order his food in some language he made up on the spot. He was deeply committed in his faith. He served his Lord in many capacities. I so regret not keeping in touch over the years. Rest in the Lord's arms Roger. Many of us loved and cherished you.

Anita Coyle

September 21, 2023

Forever missed by the Denton High School Class of 1962. May He Rest In Peace.

Joe & Lisa Rosa

Planted Trees

Gil, Karen, Marisa, & Alice

Planted Trees

Traci Muzzarelli

September 19, 2023

We always watched Tennis Tournaments and the Little League World Series all the time in the 2 years that I was his Caregiver. A GREAT MAN, who is missed dearly!

Danyel Scott

September 19, 2023

My Dear Friend Mr. Roger,

What an honor it was to be a part of your life for 2 years. I met you back in November 2021 when I became your caregiver during the week. You were such a joy to be around. You were the most loving, caring, and kind person I know. My favorite memory out of all the ones we share, was the day you got to meet my son. You will be forever missed.

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