Roger Niemi passed away peacefully on November 10, 2019 surrounded by loving family. Roger was born on March 30, 1944 to Marianne and Ernest Niemi in Butte, Montana.
Roger lived in Butte until he left for college at University of Montana in Missoula, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree of arts. He joined the IRS until retirement. Roger was an avid reader and enjoyed fishing with his brother Leonard Niemi.
Roger was proceeded in death by his parents.
Roger was survived by his 1st wife, Charlotte Niemi, two children, Aaron Niemi and Melanie (Ross) Tuggle, two grandchildren, his brother Leonard (Patty) and a niece and a nephew.
Private family services will take place at a later date. Please visit below to offer the family a condolence or share a memory of Roger.
Service Schedule
Services are pending at this time or no services will be held. If available, please see obituary for more information.
Service Schedule
Services are pending at this time or no services will be held. If available, please see obituary for more information.
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John & Betty Brewer says
Patti and Leonard we are so sorry to hear of the loss of your brother. Sending healing hugs and prayers to you and your family.
Mike Petterson/Rhonda Simmons says
So sorry to hear about Roger. We really loved him, and will miss him. We had just tried to call to see if we could go to breakfast again as it had been a while. Mike enjoyed working with Roger at the Moose turkey shoot every year, and they shared the same birthday and got along well. We missed seeing him as often after Toni passed away. He was a quiet guy with a big smile. Rest well Roger.
Kimmy Bergsing Curtis says
Roger Was a quiet, fun, talented accordion player, with a quick wit & kind heart! He was the Love of my Mom Toni Williams Life! He was a kind hearted, loving Grandpa to my children Jake, Ashley, Erica, Kylie, Morgan & Cody! I was very saddened to read this. Roger was a kind spirit who loved Fishing, Music, Family & Fun! He was a history buff & always contributed cool Montana history of the Butte & Helena area through stories & news paper clippings with personal inscriptions sent through the mail!
Roger loved the Moose Lodge & all the wonderful people that were members & shared the fun with decorating & participating in the Turkey Shootout, Kids Christmas Present Day & Dinner, Easter Egg Hunts, St Patrick’s Day Corned-Beef & Cabbage & 30 loaves of Irish Soda Bread he would help build, Horse shoe tournaments, 4th of July Picnics, Fishing Trips, Highway Clean-Up, Anniversary Parties & Birthday Parties for wonderful friends!
Roger loved being the occasional bar tender & accordionists for events! He loved the menagerie of people he met while tending bar & entertaining with his Wonderful music! Roger loved watching how Happy his music made folks while he played! He loved watching great dancers & kids as the kids would
Light up as they danced to his BEAUTIFUL music! He always said he enjoyed meeting so many people from so many walks of life & learning Montana & US history from the many folks who enjoyed his accordion music!
His quiet, calm Friendly demeanor was perfect for bar tending, it led to folks opening up to him! I recall a story of the recently departed Wrier & artist Russell Chatham entering Yacht Basin with stories of losing a big brown trout on Canyon Ferry, only to return the next week with a big brown trout in tow! He loved that story!
Roger loved Fishing on Canyon Ferry with his brother Leonard & sister Inlaw Patty Niemi! They were so close & just loved the Wonderful Montana outdoors so very much! Roger told great vibrant tales of his & Leonard’s fishing Adventures & successes! He loved tales of their days of fishing without a catch as well. According to Roger EVERYDAY of Fishing was a successful day!
Roger was a dynamic IRS man & met so many people throughout his career! He had amazing stories of meeting some wonderful Montana residents, some that were very artistic, western, and the hearts of the state of Montana he loved so much!
Later in life Mom Toni Williams met Roger Niemi, who became her companion and LOVE of her life. They were both of Finish descent! They LOVED that & shared great family stories with friends & family! They made a Finish creamed anchovies called Banga Cauda Fondu for dipping veggies & putting atop yummy bread their ultimate favorite ~ they Loved it! They Loved sharing this dish with Family & Friends! For the 16 years, they shared many adventures, from picnics with music to bonfires with s’mores to feeding hummingbirds and learning about them; they enjoyed their menagerie of birds, turkeys, chipmunks, squirrels, cougars, bears, foxes, deer and elk. They loved one another and they shared their many friends and they made many new friends along the way, who they also loved dearly. Later life was good to both of them.
Roger & my Mom Toni were a very Happy couple! They teamed up in life & made a Beautiful property in Cave Gulch above Kim’s Marina! Roger moved in with Mom up there & they made a Beautiful place Gorgeous despite fires 🔥, Floods & then eminence of Mother Nature, they just kept moving forward working with State & Federal Government officials to help ensure all cave gulch residents received the assistance, road construction & flood culvert protection for their properties!
They had an acre plus of mowing & weed eating & their place was immaculate! They were very caring & inviting & had many picnic BBQs, fish frys, Birthday Parties, Anniversary Parties, and musical entertainment events throughout their 16-years together! They just loved one another, loved their life, loved their Wonderful Grandbabies, Family & Friends, Neighbors & Community!
Recently Roger has struggled with lung cancer! He had his good days & bad days! He had moved to town but his Brother Leonard & Sister Inlaw Patty Niemi were amazing at helping him & ensuring he was able to continue his love of the Great Montana Outdoors with Fishing on Canyon Ferry! They included him in their family events which he treasured!
Friends from the Moose Lodge Beau (who knew Toni most of his life) & Jennifer Opie, Rhonda Simmons & Mike Peterson (who he shared a birthdate) with have been Wonderful friends’. They continued to love & support Roger in help with Personal & Business matter! More importantly they kept in touch with Roger & did little wonderful daily chores for him & social events such as Weekend Breakfast & lunches while playing Keno (Roger & Mom Toni’s Favorite)!
Mom Toni made the Best Bloody Marys & I recall several discussions about Roger trying to find a Bloody Mary in Helena that was even came close in comparison to Mom’s he wasn’t having much luck!
We will miss 5pm Happy Hour with Roger ~ he always made the greatest toasts! Usually the toast was relevant to current Montana, World or a Family event , but always the first toast was humorous!
Roger ~ “Here’s to you & a life well lived! Thank you for Your kindness, sharing your Love of Montana, Fishing, Accordion Music, Art, Family, Dancing, playing Cards & Games & a Good joke! Thank you for Loving my Mom Antoinette “Toni” Williams & the rest of us that came with her!” Love you PaPa Roger
Maria Bates Szymanski says
Patty and Leonard, So sorry to hear about the loss of Roger. I remember hearing all kinds of stories about him and all the fun you had with him. He sounds like an amazing, kind, fun, loving person, no wonder God needed him in heaven!
James L Jaffe says
I was in Helena visiting friends when I saw Roger’s notice in the local paper. In 1968 I was stationed in Yuba City, CA as an Internal Revenue Agent and Roger joined the office as an Internal Revenue Officer. Since my wife and I were from Montana we became friends with Roger and Charlotte. Roger had a dry sense of humor and was a good man to work with. I am sorry to learn of his passing.