Roger Arnold Thiede died Thursday, March 10, 2016 at the Hospice House in Kennewick, Washington.

He was born the only child to Arnold Roger Thiede and Lillian Edith Wolfe on May 26, 1928 in Madison, Wisconsin. Roger grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and graduated from Madison East High School in 1946.  His mother died when he was only 20 years old.

He attended college at University of Wisconsin, Madison, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with Honors. Job opportunities brought him out to Washington where he worked as a Chemical Engineer for General Electric and other contractors at Hanford. He met June Duphorne at Central United Protestant (CUP) Church while helping in the church kitchen. They were married August 10, 1952 at CUP. To their joy, two sons were born, David Roger and Michael Eugene. The growing family attended CUP where Roger was on the Property Commission for many years. The family enjoyed camping, fishing, boating, waterskiing and picnicking on the Columbia River. An annual trip to Kansas with stops at various attractions was enjoyed every summer. Roger worked with the local Boy Scout Troop while Dave and Mike were growing up.

Roger received his Professional Engineering License in Chemical Engineering in 1960. He began his career at Hanford/General Electric (11/01/1950 to 01/03/1965), then Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Battelle)(01/04/1965 to 06/30/1970) and Hanford/WADCO (07/01/1970 to 02/01/1989). Before retiring in 1989 he worked at the Fast Flux Test Facility as a chemical engineer for Westinghouse.  He maintained the Hanford Retiree’s mailing list and attended their meetings.

 Throughout his life Roger developed many interests.  As Dave got into computers Roger learned with him so he could email relatives and friends across the country, research the genealogy of his family, and maintain the Hanford Retiree’s mailing list.   When Mike started farming Roger and June helped him many weekends and after retirement bought a house in Desert Aire to save on the daily commute to the farm.  Roger didn’t grow up on a tractor but once he learned how to operate one, it was hard to get him off of it.  He took an interest in Kay’s stained glass and glass fusing art and enjoyed looking in the kiln to see the finished projects.

Roger travelled back to Wisconsin for class reunions where the church youth group usually had a reunion at the same time. He used the trip to do more genealogical research and visit relatives and in-laws in Kansas. In addition to researching family history, Roger joined the Tri-City Genealogical Society. In 2010, Roger received the Washington State Genealogy Society for exemplary and consistent volunteer service to preserve records as a goal and purpose of the Tri-City Genealogical Society. The award states: “Roger Thiede has been an active member of the Tri-City Genealogical Society’s (TCGS) School Census Transcription Project for more than five years. This endeavor seeks to transcribe school censuses from Benton and Franklin Counties made during the early 20th century. Roger’s efforts have paid off over the years as he has transcribed hundreds (perhaps thousands) of names from sheets that are not generally easy to read. His work has been not only voluminous, but accurate and timely. Roger’s level of input has matched the combined total of all other volunteer input in this project. His diligence in this project is to be admired and recognized. Our Society has profited from Roger’s voluntarism in another way as well. He has assisted in the distribution of our regular Bulletin for several years making this publication (which helps to preserve genealogical records of all kinds) available to members and member organizations throughout the country.”  

Roger also enjoyed collecting coins and continued to help at CUP, working with kids to make God’s Eyes, maintaining the Rose Garden, stocking the pop machine at the Gathering Place, and ushering on Sunday morning. Many people will remember the jam he made for a church auction. To make the jam he used raspberries from his backyard, apricots from his Desert Aire home and cherries from Mike’s orchard,

Roger was preceded in death by his parents; wife, June; and June’s siblings. He is survived by son, Dave and his wife, Kay; son, Mike and his wife, Lois; grandchildren: Shannon, Carlos and Devannee; nephews: Ed and Tim Guenther; nieces: Sharon Kay Guenther, Peggy Warren, Cindy Angel and Connie Fuerstenau; and lastly, he is survived by Buddy, his faithful canine companion of the last decade.    

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, March 19, 2016 at Central United Protestant Church at 2 pm.