Obituary of Roger L. Janssen

Roger L. Janssen, 82, died on April 9, 2025, following a brief but courageous battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  He died at his Tiffin home with his son and brother by his side.

Roger was born March 8, 1943, in Persia, Iowa, to Alden and Gertrude (Gau) Janssen.  Soon after, the family bought and moved to a farm near Storm Lake, Iowa, and it was near there that Roger began Kindergarten at Nemaha Public School.  When he was in second grade, the family moved to Tiffin, Iowa, so his older brother, Bob, could attend the State University of Iowa’s school for handicapped children.  Bob was wheel-chair bound his entire life and even as a young boy and continuing throughout Bob’s life, Roger assumed the mission of caring for him, entertaining him, physically carrying him from place to place to ensure that he could experience as much of life as possible.

Roger attended Tiffin High School through his sophomore year, graduated from University High School in 1961, and immediately left for training in the U.S. National Guard.  Upon his discharge, he worked for Viggo M. Jensen Company helping to construct many area buildings, including The University of Iowa’s Kate Daum Residence Hall, where, coincidentally, two of his grandsons, as well as their significant others, would reside during their freshman years.  In 1964, Roger married Marlene Neitderhisar in Williamsburg, Iowa.  They divorced in 2001, but to this union their son, David, was born in 1967. That same year he began working at UI’s Data Processing Services, where he became the innovative and efficient manager of its bulk-mail center. He retired in 2000, and spent the next two decades helping his school friend Perry Beckler and family operate PB Body Shop in Tiffin.

Roger was a beloved presence in Tiffin, where he lived for nearly 76 years. Some of his friendships dated to his school days, and he added to his circle of friends every year. He was a beloved neighbor, always eager to offer help; a concerned friend, routinely checking on people; a caretaker who assisted elderly friends when they were sick or in need. He loved to laugh, enjoyed playing practical jokes, and made it his mission to make people around him laugh with him. He assumed the best in people he met, and was well known for chatting up strangers, who were inevitably charmed by his authenticity and interest in them. In the last few weeks of his life he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from hundreds of people whose lives he had touched.

Roger is survived by his son David (wife Kristin) of Cedar Rapids; grandsons Michael (wife Emily) of Coralville, Nicholas of Cedar Rapids, and Ben (fiancé Emma) of Ann Arbor MI; his siblings Linda Croy (husband Jim) of Solon and Rick (wife Jan) of Tiffin, as well as his former wife, Marlene, and many beloved nieces, nephews, in-laws and cousins from both the Janssen and Neitderhisar sides of his family.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Bob.

Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday May 1, 2025, at Gay and Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City, with visitation held on Wednesday, April 30th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.  Roger will be inurned at Tiffin’s Oakhill Cemetery in a private, family service.  In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to FW Kent Park (2048 US-6 NW, Oxford, IA 52322), or the Sedlacek Treatment Center C/O Mercy Foundation (701 10^th Street SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403).