Roger Allan Jehnke

Roger Allan Jehnke
August 22, 1935 - September 7, 2024
Loving Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather, and Neighbor
The Facts:
Roger Jehnke, age 89 of Eagle River, WI, passed away on September 7, 2024, surrounded by family, after a long battle with cancer. While we are saddened by his passing, his was a life well lived.
Roger was predeceased by his parents Earl and Emma, his brother Earl (Sonny), his sisters Lorraine Marciniak and Sharon Kohler, his wife of 40 years, Marian, and his beloved Schnauzer Fritz.
He is survived by his longtime significant other Karen Stanton of Eagle River WI, his children: Ken Jehnke and his wife Bonnie of Lombard, IL; Keith Jehnke and his wife Debi of Durham, OR; and Lorraine Humphrey and her husband John of Weston, WI; his five grandchildren Jason Mahoney, Paige Jehnke, Avery Jehnke, Abraham Jehnke and Grant Roger Jehnke, and many nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind his extended family through Karen, Randy Kernats and his wife Jane, and Cheryl (Gypsi) Kernats, and her daughter Jasmine Caldwell.
A Celebration of his Life will be held at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church at 5030 WI-70, Eagle River, WI 54521, on Saturday, November 16th at 10:30 AM, with a lunch reception following.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Eagle River, or the Kalmar Community Center, Eagle River.
The Story:
Roger enjoyed the simple things in life including snow-blowing, leaf raking, maintaining his 120 stairs to the lake, fixing a variety of things, and other house and yard maintenance. While he did not go to a gym, these activities kept him in great shape during his retirement. He had a sneaky quiet sense of humor and would often inject humor when you least expected it. An example would be requesting that his ashes be kept in a "minnow bucket".
He also loved music. A collection of classical, Johnny Cash, Roger Whittaker, Johnny Horton, Rod McKuen, Jimmie Rodgers, Victory at Sea, The Ventures, the Grand Canyon Suite and others were all regularly heard on his "mid Century modern 5-foot-long vintage console stereo cabinet".
More significantly, Roger was a focused person who lived for his family. He was solid, steady, modest, pragmatic, dependable and always ready to pitch in and help. One of his favorite sayings was "every day is a blessing". He was an extremely intelligent man who loved to do projects. While others golfed or fished, Roger seemed happiest when he was working on improving something. He enjoyed drinking a beer now and then, and as he got older, he loved having a Grasshopper ice cream drink for dessert in honor of his Mother.
Roger Allan Jehnke was born on August 22, 1935, in the family home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, the second son and third child of Earl and Emma (Krimelmeyer) Jehnke.
As a child he learned a lifelong love of the outdoors from his Mother and Father and had no choice but to become an avid and skilled fisherman. During winters, when he was in junior high, he would often help a neighbor on his trapline rounds.
Roger's brother, Earl (Sonny), was born in 1933 and was just 25 months older than Roger. They were very close growing up. Sonny's death in a car wreck when Roger was 16 left a large hole in his heart that he did not talk about.
While in high school, he worked for the local Clark Carlson Motors Studebaker dealership, showing his early skills at fixing things. While ever thrifty, he took advantage of the employee discount and purchased a new Studebaker at the age of 17.
Roger graduated from Glenbard High School in 1954.
He entered the Army in February 1955 and was trained in maintenance and repair in an ordnance company. He had volunteered in hopes of serving our country in the Alaska Territory, which he had always dreamed of visiting, but another unit headed for Germany lost an ordnance mechanic. He was immediately redirected to Ashaffenberg Germany without even the standard 1-month leave.
There was another planned but aborted trip to Alaska in 1994. He planned to stay with his son Keith for 10 days at a logging camp on Prince of Wales Island where lots of fishing was planned. Unfortunately, Roger's father Earl suffered a stroke two days before his departure. On a happy note, he finally made it to Alaska in 2000. He spent ten days with his son Keith, his daughter-in-law Debi, and Debi's parents Lanny and Nancy on their 47-foot sailboat visiting various locations in SE Alaska. Many fish, crabs, and clams were caught/gathered, cooked and enjoyed by all!
During his 3 years in the Army, Roger took advantage of various Army sightseeing tours across Europe, including Rome, Naples, and the island of Capri. He did not speak much about these trips; stories may have led Marian to insist they take their own trip back to Italy. He was honorably discharged as a Sergeant (E-5) in February of 1958.
In late 1958, Roger met Marian Jean Robinson at a "pizza place" in Wheaton, while he was out with neighborhood lifetime friend Wes Cummings. At the age of 24, Marian was the first girl Roger ever brought home to meet his parents. They became engaged and set a wedding date later in 1960. Always the saver (possibly because he did not spend any money on dates), Roger was able to purchase their new home at 548 S. School Street in Lombard IL in December 1959. And since there was no point in owning a house without living in it, they married early on January 2, 1960, in Marian's hometown of Wheaton, Illinois. Marian always had two comments about their wedding date. First, you should never get married near a holiday. Second, she felt everyone was waiting to see if they got married early because she was pregnant. Roger and Marian spent 38 years on School Street raising their three children and creating many memories with family and friends.
During the marriage's early years, Roger worked for his father's automotive repair shop, "Greinke & Jehnke Auto Specialists" in downtown Glen Ellyn. In 1964 a want ad for a United Airlines Machinist position was put in front of him. He worked at United Airlines from 1964 until retirement in 1997. In the early 1970's, Roger was awarded "Mechanic of the Year". His young kids especially enjoyed the leftover cake he brought home from the presentation ceremony!
Roger wanted to take the family on vacation. Money was scarce, especially in the early days, so hotel vacations were out. Roger embraced tent camping, but he had to convince Marian who was deathly afraid of all things' insect. The kids loved everything about camping and preferred it to hotels. An early compromise with Marian included a screened tent that covered the picnic table. Then around 1975, he purchased a used pickup and slide-in camper. The family created many great memories in that camper going from Florida beaches to the Smoky Mountains, and many parts of Wisconsin and Illinois.
As a child, Roger's family would often go on vacation to cabins on Northwood lakes for fishing and outdoor activities. Roger carried on that tradition with his family, and some of his favorite memories were from time spent near Eagle River, Wisconsin. As retirement approached, Roger and Marian spent time "up north" looking for a suitable house for retirement. When Marian was asked how they picked Eagle River, she replied "I was afraid Roger would want to retire to 548 S School Street so when he suggested Eagle River I was all in!". They eventually settled on a property sitting 120 steps above Tambling Lake, soon had a house built, and retired there in 1997. Marian finally got her second story, a fireplace, and a house big enough to host many future family gatherings. Roger loved Eagle River and everything about it, and never looked back. Unfortunately, Marian passed away in early 2000.
While in Eagle River, Roger was very active in both the Kalmar Senior Center, and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
In 2001, Roger met Karen Stanton through Prince of Peace Church. They hit it off right away and Karen was his significant other and partner through thick and thin for 23 years until Roger's passing.
Roger and Karen were a team that loved participating and volunteering in activities at both church and the Kalmar Center. For many years they were a fixture in offering their support in many of the center's senior activities, including time in the kitchen for the weekly bingo nights and other events.
Roger and Karen were also avid supporters of the Headwaters Council for the Performing Arts and thoroughly enjoyed their local performances together.
His patient and helpful soul will be missed by many!