Ricky Martin Roeder was born at Greene County Hospital on November 18, 1953. to Deloris and Ross Roeder. He joined sister Jane and would later have a brother, Jeff, to complete the family.
The family lived on a farm east of Dana where Rick started school. They would later move to a farm a mile north of Jefferson. Rick completed his education in Jefferson, graduating in 1972.
Growing up, Rick helped on the farm tending livestock and doing field work. He played Little League baseball and participated in Cub Scouts. His main focus was riding and training horses. He was such a good horseman that during his teen years his summer job was breaking and training horses for other people. He was well known for training the difficult and challenging ones.
His family was heavily involved in the Greene County Saddle Club and he participated in many area horse shows and was very successful in barrel racing and pole bending.
He taught himself to calf rope, team rope, and steer wrestle and competed in Little Britches and Iowa High School rodeo. In 1970, he was Iowa High School Rodeo calf roping champion and competed in the National High School Finals in Colorado. In 1972 he won the Iowa championship in bulldogging and competed in the National Finals in South Dakota.
Rick was a natural born musician. He was proud to play trumpet in junior high and high school stage bands. He was a country music lover and taught himself to play pedal steel guitar.
Rick married Marcia Powers on June 12, 1976. They spent most of their married life living in Jefferson. They enjoyed many outdoor activities including golfing, biking, skiing, and many trips on their Honda Goldwing Motorcycle. He helped Marcia learn to play bass guitar and they spent 20 years playing in weekend country bands.
Rick’s work history included equipment operator at Pound Construction in Scranton, machine operator at Chicago Rivet in Jefferson and high school custodian at Boone.
Rick had a great sense of humor and could always make people laugh with a wisecrack and his mischievous grin. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Jefferson and his strong faith carried him through numerous health challenges in later years.
Rick passed away peacefully on October 21, 2026, at Regency Park Nursing Home. He was 72 years old. Private family services will be held at a later time. Interment will be in the Jefferson Cemetery.
He will be missed by his former wife Marcia, sister Jane (Tim) Lawson of Adel, brother Jeff (Kim) Roeder of Jefferson, and nieces and nephews, and friends. Services by Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home and Cremation Care, Jefferson. 515-386-2171.
