Buchanan, Roger Lee 1926 - 2015
BUCHANAN, WILLIAMS, WITT, WEGMAN, RENDON, LALONDE, THOMPSON, BUCHANAN-APPLEYARD-BERGER
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 5/29/2015 at 12:00:16
WEST DES MOINES - Roger Lee Buchanan was born Jan. 16, 1926, the son of Arthur and Alice (Williams) Buchanan in Lime Springs, Iowa.
In April of 1948, he married Nellie Marie Witt in Des Moines, Iowa. She passed away in February of 1976 in Northglenn, Colo. Roger was raised in Lime Springs and graduated from high school in Minneapolis, Minn. in 1943. He served in the United States Marine Corp from 1943–1946, attending boot camp in San Diego, Calif. Roger was then assigned to Miramar Airbase. He attended Aviation Machinist Mate School in Norman, Okla. He was then stationed at El Centro, Calif., where he attended Specialist School on C-46 transport aircraft. In April of 1945, Roger was sent to Guam, assigned to VRM-253, a squadron of 15 – C-46 transport aircraft. As a flight mechanic, he traveled with the plane, traveling to Okinawa, Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Ulithia, Iwo Jima, Peliulu, Samar and Manila. After the war was over, he flew to Shanghai and Tientsin, China.
Roger’s claim to fame was a trip where he flew from El Centro to El Taro Marine Base near Los Angeles, Calif. The pilot of the plane was Tyrone Powers.
After the military, Roger was a truck driver from 1946-1948. He then became an Iowa Highway Patrolman from 1948-1958. Roger’s career then changed in 1958 when he took a job with the Interstate Commerce Commission in St. Louis, Mo. He was promoted in 1962 to District Supervisor in Chicago, Ill. Roger was promoted in 1972 to Officer in Charge in Denver, Colo., where he retired from the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1983.
Starting in 1983, Roger was a self-employed ICC Practitioner, filing application, transfers, etc for Motor Carriers and Brokers. He also drove 18-wheelers for friends, and various carriers until 2012 at the age of 86.
Roger was active in the American Legion and the Masonic Lodge, but his passion was driving 18-wheelers. He touched so many people with his kindness and love for all. He had a quick wit, and a zest for life, a great sense of humor and ability to make friends wherever he went.
Keep on trucking!
Roger is survived by three children, Kristi Wegman of Sun City West, Ariz., Kent Buchanan of Elizabethtown, Ky. and DiAnne Rendon of Dacono, Colo.; eight grandchildren, Scott LaLonde of Golden, Colo., Roger LaLonde of Ventura, Calif., Kimberly Thompson of Boulder, Colo., Brenna Buchanan of Elizabethtown, Kevin Buchanan of Elizabethtown, Kurt Buchanan of Huntington, W.V., John Rendon of Thornton, Colo. and Eric Rendon of Northglenn; 14 great-grandchildren, one great-great-granddaughter; and one sister, Jacki Buchanan-Appleyard-Berger. Roger is preceded in death by a brother William Buchanan.
Roger will be buried in the Jordan Cemetery in West Des Moines, adjacent to his wife, Nellie Witt Buchanan.
Source: Cresco Times May 26, 2015
Howard Obituaries maintained by Constance McDaniel Hall.
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