Roger Robert Poyner

Roger Robert Poyner, age 67, of Kenosha, passed away on September 16^th, 2026, at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, in Milwaukee, WI. 

Roger was born in Chicago on July 19, 1959, the youngest of eight children born to to Floyd Charles and Lucille Mae (DeVitt) Poyner. He was educated in Chicago schools, attained his GED and received an Associates Degree in computer repair from DeVry Institute of Technology, Chicago.

In 1979 he married Sheila Hall and they had one daughter, Mellissa. The marriage ended in divorce.

On June 20, 1987 he married Heather Larson in Chicago. After the birth of their daughter Lauren, they moved to Kenosha WI in 1989. Here they had a son, Alexander.

After a few computer jobs, Roger trained as an over-the-road truck driver, but missing his young family re-trained as a bus driver. After a stint driving local school bus, he began driving for Kenosha Transit. He retired in 2020.

Roger’s passions included music of all kinds, from rock and roll to the Rat Pack and especially the Beatles. He learned the guitar and loved to sing to his favorite tunes. He also loved Halloween parties, motorcycling and kayaking.

A bit of a “Dr. Doolittle,” Roger loved feeding the birds and walking the family dogs, Emmitt, McKenzie and Hope. He was particularly devastated after Hope died in July of this year. He was also primary caretaker of Specklebud the box turtle and could also be seen walking around the neighborhood with Specklebud and Hope. 

In 2000 Roger joined his wife’s passion for drum circles, learning to play djembe, Native American flute and didgeridu. He always attended the New Year’s Day drumming by Lake Michigan, leading the beat with a big drum he had found on the curb while driving around town. (He loved a good “free find” or garage sale.)

Camping, fishing with his brothers and travel by car were also top of Roger’s list. In addition to a memorable “Wild West” trip with their children,” he and Heather road-tripped to Mexico Beach, FL; Utah, the Dakotas, Memphis and Nashville, TN. In June 2025 they drove to California and up the coast to Oregon. In recent years they rented A-Liner campers for camping adventures in Wisconsin.

Family was so important to Roger. He loved being a grandpa, going by the name of Baba to his youngest ones.

Roger is survived by his wife, daughters, Lauren (Gabriel) Landergren and Mellissa (Daniel) Hernandez; grandchildren Sam, Karizma, Kaylee, Sovey and Thulean. He is further survived by his brother, Dennis Poyner, sister, Stella (Ken) Campbell; nieces Jessica Poyner, Annette (Frank) Schuh, Carol Harrelson, Darlene Ellis, and Suzy (Nick) Tracy; nephews, Edward Poyner, Gary Gardner and David Chesney and many great- nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his older siblings, Joyce, Floyd, Dorothy, Diane, and Ken.

A celebration of Roger’s life will be held from 2  to 6 p.m. Saturday Oct. 17 at the Kenosha Woman’s Club, 6028 Eighth Ave., Kenosha WI, 53143.

Memorial gifts to the Wisconsin Humane Society, Kenosha campus, would be most welcome.

Roger’s family is being served by Casey Family Options.

Casey Family Options Funeral & Cremations

3016 75^th Street Kenosha WI 53142

262-653-0667

www.caseyfamilyoptions.com