Rudolf (Rudy) Herman Roggenkamp, Sr. has completed his earthly journey, departing August 1, 2026 in the presence of both of his sons.  His journey began on February 24, 1928 in Louisville, KY.  He met his wife, Betty Jeanne (Perl) in Louisville in 1938 and after many years of friendship including time he spent working in a foundry, serving in the Air Force, and building and flying model airplanes, they decided to get married in 1953.  He went back to school and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville in 1958. After a few years traveling from job site to job site in a mobile home doing field service work in power plants, they finally settled in Talcottville, CT in 1964 where they lived for fifty-four years.

While living in Talcottville he kept busy with their local church, Talcottville Congregational United Church of Christ where he participated in the choir, was a Sunday school teacher, youth group leader, and served as a Deacon and long-time church treasurer.  He also had many roles with the Boy Scouts of America, supporting his two sons as they progressed through the various levels of scouting and eventually earning a Silver Beaver award (as did Betty) for his service at the district level.

As a volunteer he worked with Rockville Hospital, Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity. He and Betty made several mission trips to the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, MS.  He was also active with two recreational vehicle organizations, Bounders of America, a national group, and "Damn Yankees," a regional group.  He held offices with both organizations.

As an engineer he never met a spare screw, bolt , or piece of wood that didn't need to be saved because "it will probably be useful in a future project." The basement of the house in Connecticut became known in his family as the "basedump", recognizing all of the eclectic "useful" items that accumulated over the years.

After all of the travel of his early career, they continued a life of journeys that included extensive travel throughout North America visiting (and photographing) all fifty state capitals and many of the Canadian provinces and Mexican states. They also visited many of the US national parks. In addition, they traveled to Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia.

In 2018 Rudy and Betty moved to Henry Ford Village (now Allegria Village) where he participated in activities in the workshop, the model train room and a pinochle club.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, both of his parents, his sisters Pauline and Katherine and his brother Herman.  He is survived by his two sons, Rudy Jr. (Priscilla), and David (Colleen Dargie), four grand-daughters and three great grand-children, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

As per his request, there will be no services.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Back Bay Mission, https://thebackbaymission.org/ or the Academy of Model Aeronautics, https://www.modelaircraft.org/donate . Donations in his memory may also be made to a charity of your choice.