Roger Richard Moller

Roger Moller, 79, of Craig, Iowa, passed away on Monday, August 31, 2026, at Hillcrest Health Care Center in Hawarden, Iowa.

Private family services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are with the Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Le Mars. Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.rexwinkelfh.com.

Roger Richard Moller was born on December 9, 1946, in Akron, Iowa, the son of John and Lillian (Kleihauer) Moller. Roger attended school at Akron, Westfield, and then Le Mars, graduating in 1965. He was recruited by Westmar College to play basketball. He had an outstanding career playing center for four years. Roger was inducted into the Westmar College Hall of Fame in 1993. The plaque states that he was the leading scorer (19.9 ppg) and rebounder (18.7 rpg) for the Eagles from 1967-1968 men’s basketball team that qualified for the NAIA national tournament. He finished his career with 1525 points and 1524 rebounds. The Eagles had a 65-38 record during his career.

Roger graduated from Westmar College on May 25, 1969, the day after marrying Susan Hett. He was drafted by both the Los Angeles Stars (ABA) and the Chicago Bulls (NBA) basketball teams and the summer in Chicago for a tryout. Roger did not get a position on the team, they made the decision to return to Iowa, where he began his teaching and coaching career.

In the fall of 1969, Roger began teaching Industrial Arts at Wellsburg, Iowa, where he coached (assistant) football, basketball, and golf. While taking summer classes at the University of Norther Iowa, he decided to pursue a post-grad degree which would allow him to teach at the post high school tech school level. A part of that training required several years of on-the-job work and so he worked three years for Good’s Construction in Marshalltown, Iowa. In the fall of 1979, the opportunity to purchase the John and Anna Plueger farm in Grant Township, Plymouth County, Iowa, called him back to his home.

In the late 1980’s, Roger began teaching Industrial Arts at Remsen-Union School and during his 20 years there, he helped develop the hands-on house construction program for the school. He retired from teaching in 2008. He continued to farm for several more years, fully retiring in 2017. He always loved woodworking and built a number of furniture pieces and cabinet sets. Antique woodworking tool collecting was a passion and there was never a Stanley 45 or 55 plane with cutters he would not try to make his own.

Roger was a member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Craig and served on the church council and as president of the congregation.

Roger is survived by his wife, Susan; son, Todd; brothers, Glenn and David (Susan); sister, JoAnn; and nephews, Travis (Kathy) Moller and Ben (Kayla) Rehmert and their daughter, Khloie.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his father and mother in law, Paul and Catherine Hett; sister in law, Nancy Rehmert; and a brother in law, David Loucks.