Roger Lee Engle

Born August 2, 1943 Died December 14, 2014

Roger Lee Engle was born August 2, 1943 in Oregon City, Oregon.  His parents were the late Lee Edward and Blanche Lorraine (Daniels) Engle of Mulino, Oregon. 

He grew up in Mulino and graduated from Molalla High School in 1961.  He received a bachelor's degree from Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon State University) in 1965 and began his teaching career in an elementary school in Lompoc, California, later San Bruno Elementary School, near San Francisco. 

After 10 years he left teaching.  His life was an adventure. He worked selling shaved ice out of a food truck in Kauai, Hawaii.  He was a butler for a wealthy family in Palm Beach, Florida.  He managed an adult club in eastern Florida where he owned a house and lived before he moved back to Oregon around 1990.

Roger helped to care for his mother and was employed by the Trophy Shop in Canby, Oregon and later the Willamette Valley Country Club in Canby.  In 2000, Roger and his brother Ronald purchased the house in Mulino where his mother was raised.  Renovation was begun in May 2000 and it opened as Mulino House Bed and Breakfast.  In 2009, the house was sold to the Oregon Department of Transportation to make way for widening the state highway.  In January of 2010, Roger moved to San Benito with his good friend Nick Padron. 

In San Benito, a small town in southeast Texas, Roger purchased and ran a liquor store up until the time of his death.  He died unexpectedly on December 14, 2014.

He was a member of Smyrna United Church of Christ, Yoder, Oregon, the Mulino Grange, All Saints Episcopal Church, San Benito  and was an active member of the Molalla High School Alumni Association.  He served on the Molalla Alumni Scholarship Committee.

Roger is survived by his brother Ronald (Annette) Engle, his nephews Robert (Jeane) Engle of Mulino, Jon (Christy) Engle of Happy Valley, Oregon  and his niece, Karen Owens of Happy Valley.  Roger is also survived by best friend Nick and Nick's family in Texas and Idaho.  Roger also leaves a number of great nephews and nieces, cousins and friends who will miss him very much.

Services are tentatively planned at All Saints Episcopal Church in San Benito on 1:00PM January 4, 2015 and at Smyrna United Church of Christ, Canby at 2:00 PM on January 31, 2015.

Donations in Roger's name may be made to the MHS Alumni Scholarship Fund (P.O. Box 454, Molalla, OR 97038) or to a charity of your choice. 

More about Roger

When Roger was born August 2, 1943, his parents were living with his 5 year old brother Ronald on a small farm in Mulino, about 25 miles south of Portland, Oregon.  When he got a little older, he helped with the family's dairy.  While in high school, Roger's parents built and ran a restaurant called Engle's Cafe in Mulino where Roger honed his food service skills. 

Roger had a large extended family --- aunts, uncles and cousins  --- who all lived within 10 miles.  There were many family gatherings at holidays while he was growing up.

Roger did well in high school.  One highlight of those years was a trip to Chicago with the Future Business Leaders Association (of which he was elected president).  He graduated with honors and went to on attend Western Oregon State University where he trained to be a teacher.  He paid for his education by working at the university's cafeteria and in food service at Crater Lake National Park in the summer time.  In later years he said he was moved by President Kennedy's emphasis on education and that had propelled him to go on to college.

After graduation, Roger and 2 other classmates accepted jobs teaching elementary school in Lompoc, California.  After 2 years, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and continued to teach there for the next 13 years.  He was a successful and popular fifth grade school teacher using new techniques to keep the students motivated.

In 1979 Roger left teach to try his hand at new challenges.  He first worked for a little computer company which made one of the first computer systems for voting.  In 1981 he moved to Hawaii where he held different jobs including selling fences, substitute teaching and operating a food truck selling shaved ice.
Roger moved to Vermont, Connecticut and Florida beginning in the early 1990's.  In Florida he worked as a butler for a very wealthy New York family at their Palm Beach mansion.  He was well-liked, efficient and effective in this new role.  Later on he bought property near Gainesville, Florida and built a house there.  By this time he was managing a nearby club called Café Risqué.

In 1991 Roger returned to Mulino, Oregon.  He stayed with his mother, Blanche, helping around the house.  He worked for a while with this brother Ron and his wife Annette in their trophy shop in nearby Canby.  Later on he worked on the staff at the country club in Canby.

At the end of this decade, Roger along with Ron and his mother bought an adjacent historic home which happened to be the place in which Blanche grew up.  The house had gone through a number of owners and was in an advanced state of disrepair. They pooled their resources and completely rehabilitated it to become the 6 bedroom 5 bathroom Mulino House Bed and Breakfast.  Roger ran this business until 2009 when he was forced to sell it to the State of Oregon as part of a highway widening project.

In Oregon, Roger was an active member of Smyrna United Church of Christ.  In 2008 he flew to Alabama with a group of volunteers on a program to build and rehabilitate low-income housing.  Roger was an active member of the Molalla High School Alumni Association and became treasurer of its scholarship committee. Thanks to Roger and other committee members there was a large growth in the funds collected and increased number of scholarships given out each year since then.

Roger was ready to move again and along with his best friend Nick Padron, moved to San Benito in January 2010.  Within the first several week of arriving, he saw a chance to buy Don's Liquor.  In less than five months, the store was moved to its current location, shelves stocked, licenses obtained and he was open for business.  Roger's customers loved him.  His life experiences taught him an impeccable work ethic for friendly, cheerful and helpful service to others.

In San Benito, Roger began his affiliation with All Saints Episcopal Church where he found a warm, inviting and inclusive group of worshipers.  He was an active member participating in the Sunday services and attending bible study.