His childhood was spent in Friend and Lincoln, Nebraska. He graduated from Lincoln Southeast High School, received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska, his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, and his residency at Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, California. Roger was a Nebraska Methodist Hospital Fellow for Cardiology and Radiology and an American Academy of Family Physicians Fellow. He was most proud of becoming an American Board of Family Practice Diplomate and board-certified physician from 1979 until his official retirement in 2018.
He was recruited from his residency program to become one of three family practice physicians in Plainview, NE. He would stay and serve Plainview and Orchard, NE as a family physician for 21 years. He loved providing medical care in a rural towns, as he could serve the entire family from birth until death. During his time in Plainview, he served various roles such as the Nebraska Medical Association district councilor, President of the Plainview Development Corporation, President of the Plainview Public Hospital Board, and a member of numerous town boards and organizations.
In 1992 after serving as the sole physician in Plainview and Orchard for two years, he took a position as an emergency room physician at Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, SD. In 1996 he had the opportunity to become a physician at the Federal Prison Camp in Yankton. This position provided him an opportunity like nothing he had previously done, and he enjoyed attending the Introduction to Correctional Techniques three-week training at Glynco, GA. Thankfully he never had to use these skills. During his time in Yankton, he also provided medical services to the Santee Sioux Nation near Niobrara, NE. In 1998, he was honored to take a faculty position at Clarkson Family Medicine Residency Program in Omaha, NE. He was able to leave his legacy with future physicians and instill the importance of listening to the patient in a time filled with technological reliance. In 2013 he semi-retired and filled in at Warren Memorial Hospital in Friend, NE, until he officially retired in 2018 due to health issues. Being a physician wasn’t just a job; it was his way of life and taking care of people gave him joy.
When he wasn’t working, one could find him golfing, hunting, fishing, enjoying a drink and a smoke, playing cribbage, or boating on the Mighty Mo at his cabin in Lazy River Acres near Verdel, NE. Later in life, he loved following his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in their activities and athletic endeavors. He was a strong-willed man who always did things his own way and maintained this credo until his death. He wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows, but he was a fiercely caring man who is greatly loved by those he left behind.
Roger was preceded in death by his parents, mother-in-law Joanne Leiding, sister Joyce Hansen, Aunts Hazel Palmer and Rachel Palmer, brothers-in-law Roger Rohrig and Chris Vinderslev, and beloved pets Maizie and Maggie.
He is survived by his wife, Lori; dog, Hercules; children Jeff (Monica) Massie, Lisa (Perry) VanOstrand, John (Christy) Massie, and Ann (Aaron) Collingham; grandchildren Alison (Chris) Embrey, Dana (Amber) VanOstrand, Ryan (Haley) VanOstrand, Taylor VanOstrand, Wyatt Collingham, Sarah VanOstrand, Morgan Collingham; great-grandchildren Dylan, Kenzy, Trey, Chloe; father-in-law Gordon Leiding; brother Ron (Madeline) Massie, sister Jan Vanderslev, brother-in-law Dale Hansen, and sisters-in-law Janet (John) McCain, Jody (Dennis) Graskowiak, and many nieces, nephews, friends, and patients.
An open house will take place on September 25 from 2-4pm at Roper & Sons Midtown Chapel, 4300 O St. A private casting ceremony will take place upon Hercules’s death. Roger’s final wish was to combine his ashes with those of his beloved pets (Maizie, Maggie, and Hercules); and scatter them in a location he dearly loved.
In lieu a flowers the family asks that donations be made to the University of Nebraska Foundation, proceeds will support UNMC’s rural family medicine program.
To donate go to https://nufoundation.org/ways-to-give/honorary-memorial-giving/ or mail a payment to University of Nebraska Foundation, P.O. Box 82555, Lincoln, NE 68501-2555. Please identify Roger Massie, MD with your donation.