Dr. Roger Irving Lienke – November 26, 1922 – December 25, 2013
Personally and professionally, family was at the heart of what Roger I. Lienke held most sacred. On Christmas morning, December 25, 2013, at the age of 91, Roger died in loving communion with his extended family. Now he is home. He has been included. He is with us. Deep in our hearts, he is part of us. Forever. Together we are.
Roger Irving Lienke was born and raised in southern Minnesota. He attended Macalester College and then the University of Minnesota Medical School where he met and married Nancy Way in 1945. Following his medical school residency, Roger served as an Army doctor in Leavenworth, Kansas, and Fort Hamilton, New York. He later practiced as a pediatrician in Galveston, Texas; Iowa City, Iowa; and Edina Morningside and Robbinsdale, suburbs of Minneapolis.
Roger, with his family, moved to Oklahoma City in 1965 to initiate the Family Practice Residency at the University of Oklahoma Medical School, one of the first four such residencies in the United States. He was later called to establish family medicine programs in Huntsville and Anniston, Alabama, between 1973 and 1977.
After returning to private practice in southern Oklahoma City, Roger served as director of the Family Health Clinic at South Community Hospital and was a pioneer in the integration of family practice clinics with hospitals.
In 1989, Roger and Nancy retired to the beautiful Grand Portage Indian Reservation on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. He was called out of retirement for two years to practice full time as staff physician for the Cook County Community Clinic in Grand Marais.
In 2004, Roger and Nancy returned to Oklahoma City to be closer to family. Once there, Roger re-engaged with the University of Oklahoma Department of Family and Preventive Medicine through research and co-authoring of scholarly articles and other writings capturing the essence of primary care and family medicine.
Throughout his life, Roger maintained an abiding love of and involvement with music, as a player, supporter, and appreciator.
Roger is preceded in death by his wife Nancy. In addition to his close and trusted friends, he is survived by daughter Jan Boyer (Andy); sons Tupper (Nahid), Roger (Kathleen), and Tom (Kathy); his grandchildren Blake, Genevieve, Zachary, Chris, Jack, Monica, and Julia; and great grandchildren Sophie, Naomi, and Logan.
There was a gathering in celebration of his life on January 1, 2014 at Cafe Do Brasil, 440 N.W.11th St., Oklahoma City, OK.
Memorial donations may be made to the University of Oklahoma Foundation with this notation in the check’s memo area: Family Medicine Enrichment Account #0050043. Mail to: University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc., 100 Timberdell Road, Norman, Oklahoma 73019.
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