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Roger Walters Obituary
died peacefully in a care home
on February 25th, aged 73.
Roger was a dear and respected friend to many at Lancaster University (1965 - 1970), at the Open University,
Milton Keynes, where he worked for
42 years, and in the University and College Union where he was a member of the National Executive for several years. Supporters of Northampton Saints and Northamptonshire
County Cricket Club will remember Roger as an ardent supporter.
The funeral, for close friends only, tbc.
Donations to War on Want.
Memories and Condolences
for Roger Walters
16 Entries
Sue Pearce
April 19, 2021
I would like to add my condolences to Roger having only recently heard of his passing. Roger was very supportive to me when I needed help from the Union during my career; he was approachable, concerned, committed and respectful and above all tremendously helpful during stressful times. He inspired me to become more involved in the Union and to 'give back' some of the support he had shown me. Subsequently I loved hearing stories about the Cellar Bar and the characters who gathered there in the 'good old days' of the OU. Sorry to hear of your passing Roger, wishing you an eternity of good friends and great conversation. Sue Pearce.
March 29, 2021
To the one and only unique Roger! As many have said you were passionate about so many causes.
Since 1971 our lives have been intertwined.
So many memories from the political fight at Geoff and my wedding reception when you met my Trotskyist friend; moving your stuff from Devon to Northampton over the Silver Jubilee weekend; protest demonstrations; visits to Northampton and the Lancaster Reunions especially in latter years. All intertwined with Six Nations matches at Twickenham and of course pints of real ale. I will miss you!
RIP Roger - with love from Fran and your late friend Geoff
Diane Watson
March 19, 2021
Dear Roger. You were a true friend to staff and students. Your support to Regions will be especially remembered. I valued you as a kind and loving person. Your work was so important. Rest in Peace.
March 15, 2021
This is very sad news indeed. Roger's work made a great difference to so many people.
Michael Thomas, English AL, Faculty of Arts and Social Science.
Lesley
March 15, 2021
I only knew Roger because I met him via UCU at the OU. It's not something I say about a lot of people, but I liked him, his manner, his honesty, his commitment. He helped me. He was missed when he left the OU; RIP Roger.
Habib Talukder
March 14, 2021
Go well Roger. You will remain in our mind forever.
Roddy Grant
March 13, 2021
Sorry to hear the sad news of Roger's passing. He worked tenaciously for the teaching staff at the OU. We are in his debt.
Costas Athanasopoulos
March 12, 2021
I had the honour to work with Roger in the OU Union (OU-UCU). He was a joy to talk to, determined in defending academics' rights and with a fine sense of humour. Our world is a much poorer place without him. My condolences to his family and many friends.
Brendan Quinn
March 12, 2021
Sorry to hear this sad news. Roger helped very many people at the OU through his Union work over the years.
March 12, 2021
I had the great fortune to work alongside Roger at the OU and in the OU AUT during the early years. Very sad to hear of his death - he was a fine colleague.
Keith Attenborough
OU Technology Faculty 1970 to 1999
Professor of Acoustics 2008 to date
Tony Abramson
March 12, 2021
Roger arranged his conference attendances so as to visit old friends on a regular basis. He would arrive, courtesy of British Rail, shambling down the platform hauling a tatty suitcase and an even more tatty railway timetable. Rather than greeting him, you would remove his glasses and decontaminate them, so he’d have some notion of where he was and who was now carrying his suitcase.
The homeward journey would be interrupted by a visit to the nearest real ale pub. You’d have thought the Guinness Book of Records would have an entry for slow drinking! After an hour, he would be down to the dregs of the first pint and thirsting to sample another. It was easier much later, when he was confined to a wheelchair and you could wrestle him for control of the drive buttons.
The arrival of the annual holiday postcard from Greece was a red-letter day, when we competed to decipher Roger’s hieroglyphs. I’m not sure how he had trained the intoxicated spider to weave around the card in such a bizarre manner, but it provided hours of free entertainment.
In his characteristically avuncular way, he was quite happy challenging the children to chess or one of the early BBC Acorn computer games. He was obsessed by one involving building a tribal village. After all, that’s what he’d done at Lancaster.
If you were unfortunate enough to have missed the last bus to Morecambe, you might have to crash out on Roger’s floor. He’d be talking when you went to sleep and still at it when you awoke.
Jane & Tony Abramson
Trudi Wales
March 8, 2021
I met Roger Walters when I moved to the OU in 1999 but I had no idea at that time how much his friendship would come to mean to me.
Roger was a passionate supporter of the rights of OU students, and particularly of their rights to have their voices heard directly through their own organisation, OUSA. I came to learn that he was a man of enormous integrity, prodigious intelligence (in at least two senses of the word) and a somewhat puckish sense of humour. I feel fortunate to have benefited from his friendship over all these years especially since, notwithstanding the things we shared in common (socialism, trade unionism, Lancaster University, ...... real ale), I never got the hang of scheduling weekend meetings around the rugby and cricket fixtures.
Although we did at least manage to get to see Roger last February, just before the world went mad, I am so sorry that the pandemic must have robbed him of much of the close support and companionship of many of his friends and of course that it means we will not be able to keep our promise to return this year. Roger, you will always have a special place in my heart.
Trudi Wales
March 7, 2021
Roger, you will be remembered for your dedication to education, social justice and equality and your passion for rugby, cricket and real ale. You were unique; a dear and loyal friend. We will miss you, Ros
March 4, 2021
Roger was thoughtful, intelligent, and well informed, with a love of beer and cricket. He was a valued friend and colleague.
Hugh Walmsley
Patricia Hulme
March 4, 2021
Many happy memories of times I spent with Roger. He was a dear friend and I will miss him.
Professor emeritus Mick Short
March 4, 2021
Roger and I were undergraduates together at the University of Lancaster between 1965 and 1968. We shared a flat for our final year and stayed in touch throughout our lives. Roger was highly intelligent and very committed politically with left-wing views. Throughout hid life he did all he achieved in spite of having to cope with a disability which made it difficult for him to walk for long, especially on with uneven surfaces. He coped with his problems with fortitude and good humour, never letting them interfere with his main goals. After Roger graduated with a BA Hons in Politics, he stayed on at Lancaster for an MA and then worked as a very effective administrator at the Open University. He also stayed in touch with his alma mater throughout his life and was committed to the university's alumni association and was an active member of various committees, including the University Court. He is sadly missed.
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