Roger E. Kempton

Roger E. Kempton, a U.S. Marine, track star and former business owner, died peacefully on September 7, 2024 at the age of 71, due to complications from liver cancer. Roger was born March 14, 1953 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, the second of four children of Edward and Jeanne Kempton.
Growing up in Nanuet, Roger satisfied his adventurous spirit in many ways, enjoying the company and camaraderie of his brothers and friends in the Prospect Street neighborhood. He built rafts, fixed cars, rode snowboards, delivered newspapers, outsprinted everybody in match races down the Jerrys Avenue block, and once slept out for 140 consecutive nights in a canvas tent on a platform deck he constructed in the backyard of the family home. It was a wonderful childhood.
Roger attended St. Anthony's Elementary School in Nanuet and Nanuet High School. He attended Rockland Community College for two semesters, earning Dean's List honors both semesters. At Nanuet High School, he starred on the track and cross country teams. He was a member of the mile relay squad that set a Rockland County schoolboy record (3:28) and won its division at the famed Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
Roger served his country proudly in the U.S. Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Corporal. His service to the Marines included stints at Camp Pendleton in California, Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and Okinawa, Japan. He was an artillery man who held a variety of assignments over the course of his active duty, most notably as a howitzer cannoneer, but also as a nuclear weapons mechanics specialist and field artillery and battery man. For his marksmanship, he earned two Rifle Expert Badges and also merited a Good Conduct Medal.
A talented athlete, Roger competed for the U.S. Marine Corps track team and set records for his unit in events spanning from the 440-yard dash to the mile run.
Roger held a range of jobs during his working life. While living in northern California, he owned and operated a fitness gym in the town of Burney. His open-door policy and generosity toward those of lesser means endeared him to many in the community. Along the way he also established self-owned and operated businesses in landscaping/lawn maintenance, mobile auto maintenance, and was a certified hypnotherapist. Earlier in his working life he served as a wastewater treatment operator at Lederle Labs in Pearl River, and assembly line operator at Ford Motor Company in Mahwah, N.J.
A tinkerer by nature, Roger patented a combination blade for lawn mowing and snow throwing that proved commercially successful. A car aficionado, Roger's collection of vehicles included classic models like the '70s vintage Corvette he owned and oddball favorites like the Blue Creek Baptist Church bus that he purchased in North Carolina.
Roger was predeceased by his parents, Edward F. Kempton and Jeanne E. Kempton, and his sister-in-law Joan Kempton. He is survived by his sister, Frances Pantaleone; brothers Terrence and Jamie; nieces Jennifer Kempton and Suzanne Aleman; nephews Eric Pantaleone and Nick Pantaleone; and many cousins, younger-generation relatives and friends.
The Kempton family wishes to thank the good-hearted staff at Northern Manor Nursing Home in Nanuet and at Nyack Hospital for their professionalism, compassion and dedication to Roger's needs. Roger will be deeply missed by his family and by all who knew him.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Roger's memory to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.
Wake services will be held Thursday, September 12, 4 to 7 p.m., at Joseph W. Sorce Funeral Home, 728 West Nyack Road, West Nyack, N.Y. 10994. Another short viewing will be held on Friday, September 13, 9 to 10 a.m., at Sorce Funeral Home, followed by burial at Frederick Loescher Veterans Memorial Cemetery in New Hempstead, Town of Ramapo, Rockland County.