There’s a line in the middle of a well-known Robert Louis Stevenson poem which says “that man is a success who leaves the world better than he found it.”
For hundreds who knew him, community champion Roger Jerome is among those men.
Five days before he was disconnected from the life support system that sustained him, Jerome left the community he loved doing what he loved. With a van full of Bronco athletes on June 11, he headed for a varsity basketball tournament in Fargo.
Behind the wheel on the highway, the 54-year-old suffered a massive stroke. Fleetingly aware of his own erupting emergency, Jerome was able to maneuver the vehicle off the road, according to Dieter Humbert, who was following behind. Jerome was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and then flown to a Fargo medical center where it was later confirmed that brain death had occurred.
On June 16, Jerome’s brother Larry, and Stuart Nordquist, his mentor and best friend, and two other family members were ushered into a surgical room to say their final goodbyes. Having designated his body for organ transplant and medical research, Jerome’s service to others remained unwavering even in death.
Born on Jan. 5, 1956, and raised in International Falls, Roger John Jerome grew to serve his community in a multitude of ways. Often seen riding a bike, many describe him similarly as “quirky,” “unique,” or “not your usual public guy.” Living a lifestyle that was as humble as he was, Jerome’s quaint and unassuming idiosyncrasies endeared him to many.
He never married and has few survivors, but for Jerome — community was family. All accounts say he had boundless interest in young people, particularly those he could help.
Few knew that he had a teaching degree. Jerome’s passion centered on sports — namely football, basketball and baseball. He was foremost a Falls Broncos and Minnesota Vikings fan. He played local basketball and softball from 1973-2008.
Jerome served in several International Falls coaching positions, most recently coaching ninth-grade basketball, and assistant coaching varsity basketball. Long-time Falls High School coach Nordquist, who initiated Jerome’s football coaching career, lovingly characterizes him as a “late bloomer.”
Jerome was the “Voice of Bronco Football” for KGHS-KSDM Radio Station where he was employed from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s. More recently, he was a sports correspondent for The Daily Journal. He also served the Falls Recreation Commission, was president of Little League, and coordinator of the Slow Pitch League.
But the realm of Jerome’s devotion to community held even broader horizons.
He served as chairman of the Falls School Board as well as the Kootasca Community Action Board. He was a STRIVE mentor, and served the county’s Foster Care Recruitment Committee. As a lifetime member of St. Thomas Catholic Church, he was a sponsor for the Right of Christian Initiation for Adults, a confirmation mentor, a lector-commentator and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was also a member of the Elks Club.
Nordquist got to know Jerome in the 1990s when Jerome was a radio sportscaster. “He was the only journalist that I trusted completely,” he said. As a broadcaster, Jerome was colossally inquisitive about the game of football, Nordquist recalls. And when he later agreed to become Nordquist’s assistant coach, Jerome’s appetite for football detail was insatiable.
The two became the closest of comrades — talking sports daily, watching games and often sharing meals.
Receiving the tragic news, Nordquist immediately went to Jerome’s Fargo bedside. Attesting to Jerome’s irrepressible dependability, Nordquist emotionally told The Journal he half-expected him to “sit up in bed.”
A tearful Nordquist said he had envisioned telling him, “Geez, you missed a few days, Rog.” Indeed, the shock of Jerome’s sudden absence has many still looking around corners for that reliable gait and that unmistakable voice.
Cohorts on the Falls School Board, Jerome and Nordquist agreed and disagreed. But always Jerome listened and often withheld judgment until he had weighed both sides, Nordquist said. He noted that Jerome was charitable in placing his trust, believing in the good. “I’m going to miss him dearly,” Nordquist said, admitting he is disheartened to go forward without him.
Local college coach Humbert drove another van of basketball players behind Jerome on that day headed for Fargo. Sharing similar passions, Humbert gave life support to his friend while guided by a 911 operator.
After Jerome was hospitalized in Fargo, team members, parents and coaches decided it would be best to go ahead and “play (the tournament) for Roger — fight for the life and the spirit he always presented,” Humbert said.
“Roger lived life to the fullest, happy every day of his life,” he continued. “He never let his down side show. He had the mystery of life solved in terms of what’s important.”
Humbert said that even Jerome’s act of pulling over and averting a multiplied tragedy exemplifies his inner strength. “He had strong faith ... and his ministry was working with kids,” Humbert explained. “He symbolized what it’s all about. He’s a kind of hero, a principled person who stood for what was right, who made fair and just decisions.
“There’s a hole in the universe today.”
Local coach and teacher Timm Ringhofer agrees. Long associated with Jerome, Ringhofer said that what this loss means for kids is hard to put into words. Accordingly, Jerome was a father figure for some young athletes.
“There’s going to be a lot of kids who miss the experience of having Roger as a coach and mentor, Ringhofer said, adding that it’s going to be very strange not to see him at those first games of the season. “I hope the teams will find ways to honor Roger,” he said.
Young Falls athlete Shawn Filipiak is one of those who feels the void created by Jerome’s absence.
“He was always there for us no matter what,” Filipiak told The Journal. “It was easy to talk to him. He was always trying to help, and he was a big help. He always wanted us to get better at everything we did.”
Cynthia Jaksa is engagement and site manager for KOOTASCA Community Action, on whose board Jerome was chairman, but she has known him for decades. A bewildered Jaksa told The Journal she “really can’t believe this has happened.”
“No one could chair a board meeting more effectively and efficiently than Roger Jerome,” she said. “He was one of the consummate leaders in this community. He had integrity, good judgment, could consider different viewpoints and always had public interests at heart.”
Jerome was his own person with his own niche, Jaksa said fervently. She said part of what made him unique is that he didn’t have the typical profile, “didn’t come with an established economic base as most people who step up to the plate are established.” And there is more that adds to her grief, she explained.
“His death is really a result of a failed health system,” said Jaksa, noting that Jerome knew he had high blood pressure but it went unmanaged because he didn’t have health insurance.
“He was one of ours with all his charm and personality,” she said. “Personally, I’m just going to miss him terribly,”
Close friend Dave Peterson played sports, went to tournaments, hunted and fished with Jerome. “He gave everything he had,” said Peterson. “He was just a good man.”
A friend since boyhood, best man at his wedding, the loss of Jerome has left Bill Sohlman stunned. “When we graduated from high school, no one really knew him,” Sohlman said, his voice agonized. He recalled that his buddy was always available, never-ever late, and a man of his word.
FHS Athletic Director Jim Rolando is also missing one his best friends. Asked what message he thought Jerome would want his community to take forward, he replied, “I think he’d like to make sure that kids are coached and that they have people just like him doing it.”
Longtime friend Tammy Jo Crawford, who worked with Jerome on the Falls Recreation Commission, said she thinks something noble should be accomplished in Jerome’s name.
“We’re going to have an incredibly huge void in our community,” said Crawford. “We must come together and do something really great for kids.”
A Memorial Mass for Jerome is scheduled at 10 a.m. Wednesday with a Recitation of the Holy Rosary offered at 9 a.m.
