Roger D. Stephens

Roger Donald Stephens passed on February 3rd, 2023, at the age of 78 and joined his beloved wife Kathleen "Kathy" Stephens who passed on July 2nd, 2021. Roger was born on March 12, 1944, the lastborn child of Roland and Alice Stephens in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Roger grew up with his older siblings Gary, Phillip, and Marilyn. He enjoyed going to the movies, and listening to radio shows including Westerns, which led to his love of classic guns and learning to fast draw with six shooters. He went to Abraham Lincoln High School, where he played baseball and football. After high school, he got a job as a surveyor and historian for the city of Council Bluffs. In his mid-twenties he started working at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, where he became a respiratory therapist and met the love of his life Kathy. In 1973, they got married at RLDS Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

In 1975, Roger and Kathy had their first child Joshua and moved to the small mountain town of Nederland, Colorado. Roger and Kathy built their mountain home and continued to renovate it as their family expanded. They had three more children in Colorado, Hillary, Tristan, and Laurel. Roger worked at Boulder Community Hospital as a respiratory therapist alongside his wife Kathy, a registered nurse, where they both enjoyed providing care to their patients. During this time, he went back to school to obtain his certification in Respiratory Therapy. He also worked as a freelance photographer and videographer, where he filmed a football commercial for the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Roger had many hobbies in his life, including building and renovating homes, watching sports, collecting guns, doing target practice, and riding motorcycles and ATVs on the mountain trails. He was a movie buff and amassed a vast movie collection, starting with VHS and later switching over to DVDs and Blu-Rays. Roger and Kathy enjoyed helping others in their community and would provide meals and donate goods to others in need. Roger had a generous spirit and went above and beyond to help out others.

Roger loved to chat with friends and family and had a boisterous laugh. He was known to sing and hum Christmas songs year-round, especially while working on crafts. He had a talent for wood working and manufacturing beautiful handmade leather goods, which he occasionally taught others to do as a local leather crafts instructor.

Roger loved the mountains and enjoyed nature photography and wildlife watching, especially the moose family who would frequently visit their home. He also travelled extensively throughout his life, starting with exploring the U.S. on road trips with his family and his little dogs in his motorhome. He would later travel abroad with his wife to many countries in Europe and Asia.

He is survived by his loving children; son, Joshua Stephens; daughter, Hillary Kysar (Kristopher Kysar); son, Tristan Stephens; and daughter, Laurel Stephens; older brother, Philip Stephens as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Hoy Kilnoski Funeral Home on Friday, February 17, 2023.

Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 PM at Hoy Kilnoski Funeral Home on Saturday, February 18, 2023. The family will direct memorials.