Roger Donald Luder

Our modern-day Wyatt Earp, Roger Donald Luder (72) of Rio, Wisconsin, passed away somewhat unexpectedly on July 25, 2025, while surrounded by family.

He was born in Madison, WI on December 20, 1952 to Rudolph and Bonnabel Luder. He spent his childhood working on the family dairy farm with siblings Bonnie Jean, Jerry, Russ, and Jeanine, and making considerable mischief. (He proved, among countless other things, that matches + atomizer = blowtorch for ant hills, you can convince your brother to grab a squirrel by the tail, and playing inside an in-use grain wagon is a bad idea.)

He attended school in Sauk Prairie through his junior year, during which time he worked as a personal assistant to the writer August Derleth. The mischief continued in his teen years, with an expulsion that had him finishing high school in Madison, where he competed at the state level in forensics and went to the bar for lunch every day. An ambivalent 1971 graduate of Edgewood High School, Roger then traveled to California where he continued to live in the ways that most amused him, leading to a life-time ban from Disneyland.

He started several construction companies and built many geodesic dome homes in Wisconsin, including the Montello Community Center. During this time he met his partner, Sandra Smith. They would love and annoy each other in all the best ways for the next 46 years. They had two children, Megan and Ryan, who tried to fulfill the curse of "you'll have children just like you", and while their shenanigans were admirable, they still paled in comparison. Roger got lucky.

Roger became a prison guard in 1984 and spent the next 20 years putting all his trouble-making to good use by becoming the AFSCME union president and fighting (and winning) for workers' rights. Throughout this time, he continued to do woodworking. He built kitchens and bathrooms, cabinets and trim, and many custom items.

An avid rider, Roger went to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for more than a decade with his close friends Vince, Al, Jeff, and Mike, making memories not fit for print. While he loved to tell the story of the time they got picked up by a tornado, his favorite trip was when Ryan was old enough to ride out with them. Pride in the man his son was becoming beamed from his face as he cued up Steppenwolf on his radio to start the adventure. Together they started a woodworking business in 2015, Four Oaks LLC.

Food was a passion of his, and he had a standing Saturday breakfast with his daughter and her family where they compared stories and laughed at the most inappropriate things. He also loved gaming and was well over a level 600 in Fallout 76. DougTags, Sniper, Vicious and the rest - be sure to hold down those daily challenges.

Roger is preceded in death by his parents and close friends Vince and Mark. He is survived by his children Megan (Tim) Hartley and Ryan (Jennifer) Luder and grandchildren (Sam, Alli, Audri, and Rodrik), and his partner Sandy, who will miss him with her entire soul. His kids and grandkids will attempt to carry on his legacy with continuing adventures, crude humor, and sheer force of will.

He lived by Hunter S. Thompson's adage, "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!'" He did just that, causing mischief right up until the end when heart complications interfered with a scheduled surgery. He passed in the loving company of family and friends, listening to Ozzy and The Moody Blues.

Dad - you taught us that we could be anything we wanted, so long as we didn't bring the cops to your door. You taught us how to seize life and how to find humor in even the darkest of places. We'll be telling your stories - your tall tales that somehow actually happened - for generations. You will be loved, missed, and remembered for all of our days. "And we'll see you, we'll see you on the other side..."

A celebration of life will be held at his home on October 11, starting at 2:00 PM.