Roger T. Kemper

Roger T. Kemper passed away peacefully at home early Tuesday, October 12, 2021, at the age of 82.  He was born on March 7, 1939, to Lawrence and Helen (Rogers) Kemper at Kent, IN.

Roger was married to Mary Faulkenberg Kemper on September 18, 1965, in Mt. Vernon, IL.  He was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law Don Faulkenberg.  Roger is survived by his wife Mary (Faulkenberg) Kemper; two sons Larry (Kelley) Kemper and Brian (Heather) Kemper; grandchildren Abby, Katie, and Anna Kemper of Westfield, IN, and Claire and Natalie Kemper of Indianapolis, IN, and sister Sharon (Kemper) Yarber (Deb Hutton) of Bloomington, IN, and numerous cousins.

Roger graduated from Hanover High School in 1957 at Hanover, IN.  He participated in track and baseball in high school, but his favorite sport was basketball. He was also involved in the FFA and held the Hoosier and American Farmer Degrees.

Roger received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1961 from Purdue and his master’s degree in Agricultural Economics in 1963 also from Purdue. He was an active member and lived at State House at Purdue and was a member of Alpha Zeta and Ceres Honorary Fraternities and Kappa Delta Pi, the honor and professional society in education.   After graduation from Purdue, Roger worked in sales in Illinois for Funk Bros. Seed Co.. In 1972 he and Noel and Joe Callahan founded Callahan Seeds in Indiana. After the Callahans retired, Roger served as General Manager of the company in the 1990’s.  The company was then sold to Limagrain, a French seed company, and Roger served as their Director of Research for 12 years before his retirement in 2001. Roger was also active in the seed industry and served as President of the Indiana Seed Trade Association, Regional Vice President of the American Seed Trade Association, and was a member of the US Feed Grains Council.

Roger was active in youth sports in Carmel where he coached basketball, served as baseball commissioner and President of the Carmel Dad’s Club.  He also served on the Booster Club board for Carmel High School.  He was a member of the Carmel United Methodist Church where he served on the Administrative Board and chaired the financial campaign one year. Roger also belonged to the Carmel Rotary, where he received the Paul Harris Fellow award. Roger also served on the Hamilton County Extension Board.

Roger and Mary were loyal Purdue fans, season ticket holders, and regularly attended basketball and football games, and several bowl games. Roger was a member of the John Purdue Club and the President’s Council.  He and Mary funded scholarships for the College of Agriculture and College of Health and Human Science.  Roger was also a founding shareholder of Boilers, Inc., which publishes the magazine Gold and Black Illustrated and website GoldandBlack.com. He was very involved in the growth of the company, serving as a key advisor and officer from 1990-2013.

Roger and Mary enjoyed traveling and visited over 30 countries.  They played golf and spent winters in south Florida at Bonita Bay, and summers in northern Michigan at Burt Lake.  Roger loved his family and was a proud observer of his grandchildren’s activities and accomplishments.

Friends and family may attend the visitation Friday, October 22, 2021, from 4-8pm at Flanner Buchanan-Carmel. The Celebration of Life will be at Carmel United Methodist Church at 621 South Rangeline Rd., Carmel, IN on Saturday October 23, 2021, at 10:30am.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Carmel United Methodist Church or the Roger and Mary Kemper Scholarship at Purdue University’s College of Agriculture at connect.purdue.edu/inmemoryofrogerkemper or make donations payable to Purdue Foundation and mail to Purdue Foundation, 403 W. Wood Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907.

The funeral service for Roger will be able to be viewed live on the Carmel United Methodist Church’s website via the following link https://carmelumc.org/ at 10:30 am on October 23, 2021. To view please click on the provided link and click on the “Watch Live”.