Rodger Wayne Baumgarten

BAUMGARTEN Rodger Wayne Baumgarten passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, February 26, 2012. He was 71 years of age and a longtime resident of St. Tammany Parish. Beloved father of Jeffrey and Tammany Baumgarten. Son of the late Harold and Helen Baumgarten. Grandfather of Elizabeth, Emily and John Baumgarten. Born on September 18, 1940 in Muskegon, Michigan he graduated from Muskegon High School before joining the Air Force in 1959. He served as a Nuclear Weapons Specialist and maintenance technician working on the B-52 in Spain during the height of the Cold War. After leaving the Air Force in 1962 he attended Florida State University and was a proud Seminole for the rest of his life, though often frustrated with their performance on the football field! He graduated with a bachelor's degree in management and moved to the New Orleans area to work at Standard Brands and later Katz and Besthoff (known as K&B to locals) where he served as the Director of Human Resources, which was the highlight of a highly successful career, until Rite Aid purchased K&B in 1997. Always hard working, he was hired by New York Life as a Financial Services professional where he quickly established himself as a leader and top performer in the local area until he retired in just the last few years. He was an avid sportsman and thoroughly enjoyed hunting and fishing in the marshes and woods of Southern Louisiana and Mississippi. He spent many Saturday afternoons cleaning and fileting mounds of trout and redfish caught in the Rigolets and surrounding areas. Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend a celebration of Rodger's life with a Memorial Service on Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at Munholland United Methodist Church, 1201 Metairie Rd., Metairie, LA 70005 with a visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m. His family will honor his desire to be interred at Biloxi National cemetery. Patriot, Sportsman, highly respected businessman, he will be missed. To view and sign the Family Guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.