February 5, 1932 ~ January 31, 2005
Debelak, Roger John a 45 year resident of Torrance, passed away on Monday, January 31, 2005 in Harbor City. Born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Roger was 72. and had served in the Army during the Korean Conflict. He was a member of St. James Catholic Church and the Omnilore Society of Torrance. Roger is survived by wife, Gloria Debelak of Torrance; sons, John Debelak of Torrance and Michael (Peggy) Debelak of Torrance; daughter, Jennifer (Steve) Holt of Canyon Lake; brothers Dennis Debelak of Hibbing, MN and Robert (Elaine) Debelak of Phoenix, AZ; sisters, Mary Lou (Tom) Forti of Hibbing, MN, Carol (Forrest) Johnson of Big Bend, WI and Marlene Simonson of Minneapolis, MN. Also left to mourn his passing are five grandchildren, Heather, Hillary, Michael, Eric and Kristina all of Torrance. Services will be Monday, February 7, 2005, 1:00 PM at St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach.
I remember Roger as a most conscientious and dedicated teacher. He truly loved his profession.
Dear Gloria and Family, I was so saddened to hear of Roger\’s passing. He was an outstanding member of our Writing Group in Omnilore and we shared many memories together of his boyhood in Minnesota. We have missed him in our group these past months and hoped he would be able to be with us again. May your Faith sustain you at this difficult time. Fondly, Marian Buck
I so enjoyed getting a monthly e-mail letter from Roger. It so kept us in touch since our Mom died. My deepest sympathy to Gloria, Mike, Jenny, & John and their familes. Love, ML
Roger was one of my favorite colleagues at ELAC. He was always kind and caring and easy to talk to. We shared an office for awhile and I don\’t ever remember any unpleasantness while he was there. I think he was loved by all of us. I will miss him.
Dear Gloria, I was saddened to hear the news of Roger\’s passing. You are two of my original patients from 1981. I have always admired your husband. He told me his first interest academically was English and literature. Yet he taught math and was very accomplished in that field. I told Roger unlike most people he had a fully developed “right and left brain” Analytical and romantic. He was a great individual, friend and patient and I will miss him dearly. With deep sorrow, Russell Hosaka, OD
Dear Gloria and Family, We are all grieving the passing of Rodger, as he was loved by anyone who crossed his path. Our prayers and thoughts go out to you and your family during this diffcult time. May your faith Family,and good friends help see you through. Try to find comfort in knowing that he is now out of pain, resting in God\’s hands. We will never forget as he will be held in our hearts forever. Our memoirs will carry us on and through life forever. We have so many through out the years, as we shared so many baseball games together, so much more to say we could go on enlessly as Rodger was the finest man, admired, loved by all he touched, he will be greatly missed.
Roger was such a wonderful man, father and grandpa! He will be missed at family gatherings, holidays and just those oridnary days. I never told him “Thanks” for making me feel so welcome in this family and for raising such a wonderful son to whom I married. Roger, will be so missed by all of us but never forgotten! Love, Peggy
You will be missed Roger! How will I ever fight big government without you. I\’m sure you have most of the answers to that now. Gloria, our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with you at this difficult time. If we hadn\’t moved 600 miles away and fighting shingles at the same time, we certainly would have been there to mourn and rejoice with you. Love, June and Merwin Waite