In memory of
ROGER VAN SCOTTER

In Memory of brother Roger Henry Van Scotter who passed away on Monday morning January 8, 2024. He was 83 and born on August 20, 1940 in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

Roger came into the world 11 months and 13 days after me. We must have seemed inseparable, as I was called “Roger” 40 percent of the time by acquaintances.

From my earliest remembrances at age three or four, he always there as a little brother. We must have been a challenge for our mother, but for me he was a gift, as playmate and teammate, throughout our youth.

Roger could be eccentric, with a quirkily personality, but a gifted genius. He excelled in the classroom, saw life around him in unique ways, and could do whatever he wanted on athletic venues. He was a natural.

It is no exaggeration to say that he was the best athlete during our generation in Elkhorn and perhaps the most versatile in the high school’s history.

Roger matriculated to Marquette University, where he excelled in track and field winning sprint titles at Central Collegiate Championship meets.

This excellence continued into his college years, graduate school, and professional life as a periodontist and avid pilot.

As we grew older, our personalities, academic interests, and vocational focuses diverged. I was into the social sciences, humanities, and running. He was captured by the physical sciences, dentistry, and flying. 

Above all else, we had immense respect of each other’s talents and our brotherhood.