Roger John Humphreys, age 83, passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, Nov. 30. After a strong 18-year fight with cancer, Roger didn’t let cancer win, but instead died of a broken heart three weeks after his wife Judi passed away.
Roger was born on March 3, 1941, in Seattle to Arthur and Eleanor (Bravender) Humphreys and later moved to Sumas where he lived since age 7.
He graduated from Nooksack High School and Bellingham Technical School for auto mechanics and then specialized training at General Motors. Before college, Roger served in the Army National Guard in Fort Bliss, Texas. He was on active duty for six months and then spent several years in the reserves with monthly weekend duty and a couple of weeks in the summer.
Roger saw Judi at the Lynden Fair after high school and later fell in love in a carpool to work from Sumas to Bellingham. They married on April 3, 1964, at First Reformed Church in Lynden where they still are members and had two children.
He worked at Mt. Baker Motors as an auto mechanic, then spent many years working for his brother-in-law John Vande Kamp at Whatcom Saw & Supply. In his later years, Roger spent some time working at HB Hansen Construction and VanderGriend Lumber. He also had his own saw sharpening business at home.
Roger loved his family dearly and was overly proud of his four grandchildren. He enjoyed building furniture and helping family build many houses. He was a perfectionist to put it lightly.
Roger’s greatest passion to the day he died was flying. He started flying around age 38 and bought his first airplane with his brother-in-law, Jerry Sebens, in 1982. It was an orange and white Cessna 172, N22230, that he kept in immaculate shape and you can still see it flying to this day. He sold it about four years ago, but still took the wheel flying with his friends in their planes up until March of this year. He served on the airport board and enjoyed many airport breakfasts, flyovers and volunteered for many projects on the runway of the Lynden airport.
Roger was preceded in death by his parents and his wife Judi of 60 years who passed just over three weeks prior.
He is survived by his son Randy (Kara) Humphreys, daughter Jill (Nathan) Graf, grandsons Justin (Sara) Graf, Bailey Graf and granddaughters Mikaela Humphreys and Kirstyn Humphreys. Also, by sisters Sylvia (Dennis) Holmstrom, Cynthia (Jerry) Sebens, sister-in-law Leigh Vande Kamp, and numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, please help us honor Roger’s memory with donations in his name to an organization that he always wanted to volunteer for and would have done so if he could have passed the medical test- Angel Flight www.angelflight.com.
In honor of Roger, and weather dependent, a graveside service will be Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at 1 p.m. in Monumenta Cemetery. If the weather is inclement, the graveside service will be held at Gillies Funeral Home with burial immediately following. After the burial, a celebration of life will be at Roger’s Airplane Hangar from 2-4 p.m.
Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
