Roger Haynes Samuels, 81, of Southbury, Connecticut passed from this life on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

Born on October 5, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, Roger was the son of Emlen and Gladys (Sweeney) Samuels and eldest sibling to Jane Hayes (Naples, FL) and Barbara Pummer (Rockmart, GA), both of whom survive him.

Roger received his Bachelor of Arts from Adelphi University, majoring in Fine Arts. He began his family with his first wife, the late Maureen Martin. The couple had two sons, John and Peter. As a young man in his early 20s, Roger used his talents in the visual arts to build two successful companies: "Roger Printing" in Syosset, NY; and later "Sterling Color," a design and printing company in Manchester, CT of which he was owner and president for over 40 years. His sketches and paintings grace the family home to this day.

An avid outdoorsman, hunter, and gardener, Roger would relocate from Long Island, NY to Cornwall, CT in the early 1970s to hand design and build a home on Mohawk Mountain. There, he would meet his wife Beth and raise their two youngest children, Lily and Tom.

A talented machinist with a penchant for mechanical engineering, there was nothing Roger could not take apart and reverse engineer, including many of his first cars, giving rise to a lifelong love of the automobile, particularly the Corvettes of the 1960s.

A devoted husband, loving father, and loyal friend, Roger was above all a committed Christian, dedicated to the service of God and the Church. Roger served as an advisor, an usher, and a nursery worker for nearly 20 years at Grace Christian Fellowship in Newtown, CT. He participated in prayer ministries of all kinds and served as a certified chaplain for local retirement homes and hospitals. Known as a friend to all, there was no gift of time and effort that Roger would not give. Roger led many dozens of people to the Lord during his lifetime and strengthened the faith of many hundreds more.

Since 2021, Roger and Beth have attended Calvary Southbury, less than a mile from their home, where Roger served in the food pantry ministry.

In his final years, he spent his days active and engaged in maintaining the family home, logging trees on the family property, planting immense gardens, pruning his fruit trees, researching his family genealogy, spending time with his beloved wife, and delighting in his two grandsons.

He is survived by his loving wife Elizabeth "Beth" (Kenagy); his son John and daughter-in-law Sandra (Budd) of Coventry, CT; his son Peter of Vernon, CT; his daughter Lily, son-in-law Jay Andrews, and their sons Ronin and Magnus of Southbury, CT; and his son Thomas and daughter-in-law Elizabeth (Gilbert) of Southbury, CT.

Calling hours will be held on Friday, May 3, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Munson Lovetere Funeral Home, 235 Main Street North, Southbury, CT 06488.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday May 4, 11:00 AM, at Calvary Southbury, 354 Kettletown Road, Southbury, CT 06488, to be followed by coffee reception. Burial will be private.

The family gratefully welcomes gifts of flowers (Roger loved them, after all). Flowers can be ordered directly from Roger's memorial page.

Recommended airport: Bradley International Airport, Hartford CT.

Local lodging: Heritage Hotel, 522 Heritage Road, Southbury, CT 06488; The Wyndham Hotel, 1284 Strongtown Rd, Southbury, CT 06488.

For more information or questions please call the funeral home at (203) 263-2146.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."