Flamm Funeral Home
Roger Lee Harris was born and raised on a farm in a great place to grow up - Newdale, Idaho - to Henry and Lena Trupp Harris on July 26, 1937. He passed away the morning of November 28, 2024 at his home in Rexburg. He attended schools in Newdale, Moody, and Sugar City, Idaho. During his high school years, sports, music, drama, and vocational agriculture (FFA) were Roger's main focus.
He achieved a State Farmer degree in FFA in 1955, the year he graduated high school. Following high school, Roger attended University of Idaho for one year, majoring in engineering. Later he attended Ricks College where he played baseball, majored and participated in theatre and was active in student government. In the midst of these activities, Roger served in the Idaho National Guard for eight years, training as a combat engineer and medic.
Because of his love for theatre, he dreamed of starting a summer theatre. So, with the help of three other theatre teachers at Ricks College, the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone opened its doors in the summer of 1964 with very limited resources. The rest is history.
Roger graduated from Ricks College and finished his schooling at BYU-Provo with a master's degree in Fine Arts, with an emphasis in technical theatre. After being hired at Ricks College in 1969, he taught speech and drama classes, designed and built sets for numerous plays and musicals, directed, and took roles in productions. Many remember his public speaking classes specifically. Roger also worked at the Juvenile Corrections Center in St. Anthony as a rehabilitation team member for many years.
He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served many times as a clerk for several bishoprics. He also served as an ordinance worker in the Rexburg Idaho Temple. In Roger's student days at BYU, where he worked as a stage manager on the de Jong Concert Hall stage, he met (on stage) and then married Gwyn Howell in the Idaho Falls Temple. They became parents of seven children who also love music and theatre: Suzanne Severe of Layton, UT; David (Heather) of Enoch, UT; Jennifer Kohler of Queen Creek, AZ; Anna Bjornn (Patrick) of Rexburg, ID; Kelleen Tolman (Jordan) of Rexburg, ID; and Clarissa Mortensen of Cottonwood Heights, UT.
Roger is preceded in death by his parents; a son, Andrew; a son-in-law, Kyle Mortensen; a brother, Layne Harris; and a granddaughter, Callie Anna Bjornn. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Gwyn; six children; 31 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren; a sister, Raymonda Furness (Kay) and brother, Danny - both of Newdale, ID.
Funeral services will be held at the Rexburg North Stake Center (314 East 2nd North) on Monday, December 9, 2024 at 11:00 AM MST. A viewing will be held on Sunday, December 8 from 5:30-7:00 PM at Flamm Funeral Home (61 North 1st East, Rexburg), as well as a viewing on Monday, December 9 from 10:00-10:45 AM prior to the services. The Harris Family would like to thank Krystal Martindale, Rogers hospice-care nurse of Aspen Home Care.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Rexburg Tabernacle Legacy Campaign to refurbish that historic building: https://www.rexburg.org/o/tabernacle/
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