Roger Allen Venden, 76, of Columbus passed away on January 17th at his home after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born June 28th, 1948 to Morris and Faye Venden in Centralia, IL.

Roger graduated from Columbus High School in 1966 In August 1967 Roger enlisted in the US Air Force to become a jet aircraft maintenance technician and served as Crew Chief for 8 years. In 1975, he trained to become a flight engineer. He was assigned to Norton AFB in California, flying on the C-141 Transport over the next 14 years. He flew over 5,000 hours worldwide and became a Flight Examiner, and qualified in Airdrop, Air-refueling, and Special Operations. Roger also served 3 tours in Thailand. He retired in 1989 as the Superintendent of Flight Simulator Training at the rank of Senior Master Sergeant.

After his retirement, Roger returned to Columbus and owned the Coast to Coast Hardware Store until it closed in 1996. At that time, Roger began working at the Columbus Country Club and eventually became the Head Grounds Keeper. The Columbus Country Club soon became his second home where he spent countless hours maintaining and improving the course with pride. When Roger wasn't working at the course he loved playing golf with his friends here in Wisconsin and Florida, his winter destination.

In 1991, Roger started volunteering for the 4th July Committee, which soon became one of his passions in life. He took on various positions within the organization and was Vice President and President. Roger took pride in the event and loved riding on the golf cart with his grandchildren along the parade route seeing so many people enjoying the day. Roger was honored with the title of Parade Marshall in 2022.

Roger is survived by his daughters Autumn Michelle (William) Brown of Birmingham, AL; Heather (Nicholas) Etter of Columbus; grandchildren Haven Venden, Jalexus Hall, Mitchell Smith, Phoenyx Etter; brother Jeff (Deborah) Venden; sisters Marilyn Venden and Karen Schrader (Gregg Ganta); brother-in-law John Platz; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Roger is preceded in death by his parents, sister Linda Platz and brother Gary "Garbo" Venden.

Military Honors will be held at 3:45 P.M. with visitation to follow until 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at Jensen Funeral & Cremation LLC, Columbus. A private service will be held.

The family would like to thank the Columbus Police Department, Lifestar EMS and the Poser Clinic.

Memorials may be made to the Columbus Country Club or the Columbus 4th of July Committee.

We encourage you to share your online condolences with Roger's family at jensenfuneralandcremation.com