Roger W. Selle, age 81, of Tigerton passed away on Saturday, January 15, 2022. He lived life on his own terms and died that same way; in his own home, in his own bed, dying peacefully surrounded by his family.
Roger Walter Selle was born on August 7, 1940, at home, The Selle Homestead, in the Town of Fairbanks, Shawano County, to Walter and Irene (Rohlinger) Selle and graduated from Tigerton High School in 1958. Roger was married for some time to Darlene Spitzer and the couple were blessed with three children; during that time he bought his own dairy farm in the Town of Germania, Shawano County, having dairy cows and then veal calves for many of the 33 years he lived there. The last 22 years were spent in the home that he helped build with his two grandsons, Josh and Zach, who were only 14 at the time.
Horses and anything to do with them were his passion, along with polka dances and sharing a good story and laughing with anyone he met. Several of his favorite things to do were attending auctions of any kind, especially horse auctions. In later years, his grandson Nick accompanied him to many of those. He owned horses for most of his life, even driving a horse team up on Mackinaw Island a few years. He made it a family event to ride horse at the Caroline Colorama each year and then in later years, getting a wagon to include more family members. He made sure that he was in the Colorama Sunday Parade with whichever children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren could fit on the wagon. He also loved bonding with his Amish friends.
For the past several years he would sit down in January and make out all of the birthday envelopes for each of his great-grandchildren to make sure they would get their birthday envelope that year. He was so proud of them. He made it a point of spending time to bond with each of his grandchildren and his children each in their own way. Roger was a jack-of-all-trades and could fix or build anything he wanted. He loved getting together with his family for celebrations of any kind and always made sure that he got the corner piece of the cake, so he had the most frosting.
Roger was a lifelong member of St. John Lutheran Church, Tigerton, where he was baptized, confirmed, and attended eight years of parochial school. Over the years, Roger served on several committees and volunteered with countless church projects.
Survivors include his partner for so many years, Sharon Selle; and three children, Jackie (Jim) Badalik of Tigerton, Robin Selle of Tigerton, and Jay (Trish) Selle of Wittenberg. There are 8 grandchildren: Justin (Nicole) Cotter, Josh (Emily) Cotter, Rachael (fiancé Cliff Kaquatosh) Mielke, Ashley (Dale) Maass, Sarah (Matt) Jensen, Nick Mielke, Uriah (Erin) Stutzman, and Zachary (Amber) Selle. There are 19 great grandchildren: Brooklyn, Jackson, Savannah, Maliya, and Genevieve Cotter; Gordon and Lucas Kaquatosh; Allison and Wyatt Maass; Natalie, Mallory, Lacey, and Jared Jensen; Myla and Emory Stutzman; Isaac, Noah, and Eloise Selle; and Dustin Hanson. There are 5 siblings: Carol (Bill) Ready of Blue Springs, MO, Dale (Nancy) Selle of Tigerton, Sharon (Dennis) Schultz of Des Moines, IA, Shirley Benbrooks of Greenville, and Walt (Mary) Selle of Tigerton. He is further survived by numerous nieces, nephews, many other relatives and friends.
Roger was preceded in death by his parents, Walter & Irene; and a brother-in-law, Larry Benbrooks.
Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, January 22nd at 11:00 AM at St. John Lutheran Church, Tigerton. Rev. Dean Suehring will officiate and burial will follow at Union Cemetery, Tigerton. Visitation will be on Friday from 5 – 7 PM and continue on Saturday from 9 – 11 AM, BOTH days at the church.
Beil-Didier Funeral Home, Tigerton, is assisting with the arrangements. Please go to www.beil-didier.com to sign the online guestbook or to send a card.
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