Roger Dean Acord, 82, died July 5, 2019 at his home in Caledonia surrounded by his loving family.
Roger was born November 27, 1936 in St. Joseph, Missouri, the second child of Mildred and Ervin Acord. He is survived by his wife of nearly 54 years, Lea (Thoman) Acord of Caledonia and his daughter, Kristen (Acord) Lalowski, son-in-law Ed Lalowski, and grandsons Eddie and Nick Lalowski, all of Chicago. He will also be dearly missed by family and friends including his sister-in-law, Nikki (Thoman) Fisher of Racine. Roger was preceded in death by his sister, Donna Archibald, and his brothers-in-law, Jim Archibald and George Fisher.
A lifelong scholar, Roger earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Kansas, a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and a PhD in English from the University of Nebraska. He also studied mathematical logic with famed logician Nuel Belnap at the University of Pittsburgh. By the time he and his wife moved to Racine in 2003, Roger was already retired from various professional activities including teaching English at the University of Pittsburgh and serving as a substance abuse counselor at a halfway house in Maine. Prior to Racine, Roger and Lea lived in a number of places including Kansas City, MO; Lincoln, NE; Pittsburgh, PA; Glen Ellyn, IL; Bangor, ME; and Bozeman, MT.
Visitation will be held on Sunday from 10 to 11 a.m. with a short memorial to follow at 11 a.m. at Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home, 803 Main Street, Racine. A lunch for all attendees will follow at Preservation Hall, directly across the street from the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the ACLU.
Please send condolences to Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home.