Dr. Roger Dean Gausman passed from this life to the next on Thursday, February 29, 2024. He was born on November 15, 1942 to Naomi Ruth and Dr. William Carl Edward Gausman in Neodesha, Kansas. It was there where he met his true love, Karen Beckner, when he was just a freshman in high school. Their first date was November 6, 1956 – a day they celebrated every year thereafter. Roger and Karen married on August 25, 1963 and had three beloved children, Kathie, Jon and Carl.
He earned his dentistry and pediatric specialty degrees from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and after serving two years in the U.S. Public Health Service in Oregon, he began his career as an Associate Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at Creighton University, later serving as Chair of the Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics department. Roger left academia in 1975 and relocated to Hutchinson, Kansas where for most of his career he was the only pediatric dentist in south central and western Kansas leading to being able to care for literally thousands of children from across the state. He would care for his patients with a gentleness and humor that earned him the love and admiration of generations of children and their families.
Everyone knew he was a devoted and die-hard Husker fan, but that paled in comparison to his love for God and his family. He attended Countryside Baptist Church in Hutchinson and later served as its associate pastor after earning his Master of Arts in Theology degree from Bethel Seminary in 2007. He led the same Bible study at his church for nearly 30 years and was always available to offer Godly guidance and wisdom to his family, his congregation, or anyone who God may have placed in his path.
Roger loved his family and always offered them unwavering support in all of their endeavors. Whether it was playing racquetball on Saturdays with Carl and Jon when they were growing up, enjoying art and working on his annual office Christmas card with Kathie, taking the grandkids out to eat after church, printing scores of resources for those more musically inclined, attending or streaming every one of his grandchildren’s sporting events or choir concerts he could, or playing games with anyone who would join him – he simply could not get enough of his family; and they could not get enough of him.
When asked to describe him, his grandchildren said he loved God and them, was funny, intelligent, full of heart, and simply awesome. Truer words were never spoken.
Left to cherish his legacy and his memory are his beloved wife Karen, children Kathie (Hutchinson, Kansas) Jon (Lebo, Kansas), and Carl (Shannon) Gausman (West Des Moines), and his grandchildren Joshua, Matthew, Paige, William (West Des Moines), and Reid (Lebo, Kansas). He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Dr. Larry Gausman.
Visitation will be held 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday, March 7 at the Overton Funeral Home in Indianola where family will be present to greet friends. The celebration of Roger’s life will be held 11 a.m., Friday, March 8 at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, with a luncheon to follow service. Interment will be in the Scotch Ridge Cemetery following the luncheon. Services can be live streamed at: https://wdm.lutheranchurchofhope.org/specialevents/.
In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to Lutheran Church of Hope’s 2024 Lenten Project - Building Hope for Africa.
To sign an online condolence, visit www.overtonfunerals.com.