Roger O. Ginn

Who was Roger Ginn?

He was the man you called when something needed to be fixed - whether it was a leaky faucet or to replace a window. The guy you asked when you needed to know who won an obscure Revolutionary War battle or what was Bernoulli's Principle. He knew things - everything. Before Google or Ask Jeeves there was Ask Rog! If he didn't know he might refer you to one of the hundreds of National Geographic magazines he kept on a bookshelf and read cover to cover.

If you needed something done fast, he was absolutely not your guy. But if you wanted it done right - with precision and craftsmanship then you called Roger. His attention to detail showed up everywhere. In his perfect handwriting and sock drawers. In the plastic grocery bags under the sink, folded so flat and neat you'd swear a machine had done it. In the quiet, steady way he was always there.

On Saturday afternoons, while Mom was working one of her three jobs, he made a mean tuna sandwich and the best damn deviled eggs you ever had.

He loved Patsy Cline, classical music, and playing with dogs (dogs were always better than people). His love of animals was so great he would warm up carrots for a guinea pig by gently blowing on them until they were room temperature - because who wants to eat a cold carrot?

His fuzzy green sweater was the safest place on earth to cry when you were little, and he could spin a bedtime story about faraway lands and Huckleberry Finn that made you want to jump on a ship and sail away.

Roger was a United States Navy veteran, who fiercely believed in the principles of America, and would never tell his wife who he voted for - that was private. He was a boy from Brooklyn but always had the soul of a Southern gentleman. He loved his neighbors on Club Place and the small town of Freehold.

He was the kind of person who did the right thing when no one was watching - especially then.

At Christmas, he reacted to socks or pistachios with the kind of genuine gratitude most people reserve for winning the lottery. He never failed to thank his favorite daughter-in-law for a home-cooked pot roast as if she'd prepared a feast for royalty.

Roger was happiest curled up with a good book, a pipe, and a Ballantine ale - preferably the kind with a riddle under the cap. He had Brylcreem in his hair, Old Spice on his face, and always carried a handkerchief, just in case a lady needed it. He may not have been a Boy Scout, but he was always prepared: pocketknife in his pants, emergency kit in the car, ready for whatever might happen.

A father of three kids who all turned out alright - which, if you ask him, means he did his job. He was married for 50 years to a wonderful, slightly crazy lady - whom he lovingly drove even crazier with his routines and idiosyncrasies. Roger liked things a certain way. (A very certain way.) Some might even say he was set in his ways. But he followed the lead of his partner, who challenged him every day to be his best self. Although he might have pushed back once in a while at the latest "idea" she asked him to do and might not have liked it at the time, he loved her fiercely for the world she opened up for him.

In the end when life had robbed him of his memory and his mind, he might not have known what year it was or how to use the remote, but he always knew my mom. If you asked him a question he would often say "Whatever your mom thinks…"

We love you Dad. We knew this day was coming, but man it is harder than we thought.

Visiting will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold from 11 am to 1 pm. Service will be held at the funeral home from 12:30 to 1:00 followed by burial at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Freehold. Following the cemetery service, a repast will be held at The American Hotel in Freehold from 2:00 to 4:00 pm

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Open Door of Freehold https://www.faopendoor.org/ or an animal shelter would be appreciated.