Memorial service will take place at 11 am on Friday, June 2, 2023, at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home-South Chapel.

Visitation will be held from 9-11 am on Friday prior to the memorial service.

Full military honors will be provided by the New Ulm Area Comrades of Valor Honor Guard at the funeral home following the service. Burial will take place in the New Ulm Catholic Cemetery at a later date. A luncheon will be held at the New Ulm American Legion following military honors.

To leave an online condolence for his family, or to sign the guestbook, go to: mvfh.org

Roger is survived by his wife of 56 years, Toots; daughter Jill Kalz (Larry Mack); son Mike Kalz; and sisters Mary Ann and Kathy Kalz. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin “Slim” and Clara Kalz, and beloved family dogs Miss Puddin’, Sally, Lucy, Betsy, and Tuckerbean.

Roger was born August 6, 1940, to Edwin “Slim” and Clara (Zins) Kalz of New Ulm, MN. As a kid, he delivered newspapers, ran errands for his dad and aunt at the family bar and grill (Kalz’s Corner), and excelled in all aspects of shop class. He graduated from Cathedral High School in 1958. After graduation, Roger worked at Pure Oil gas station, hauled freight for New Ulm Freight Lines, and worked in the bottle house at the August Schell Brewery, sometimes subbing on delivery routes. In early 1962, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. Following basic training and schooling in Texas, Roger was transferred to the BOMARC Missile Base outside Duluth, MN, where he worked on refrigeration equipment and power production until his honorable discharge in 1966. Two weeks after returning to New Ulm, he started work at 3M, first on the production line and then in maintenance, focusing on HVAC equipment. Roger received his chief boiler engineer license in 1967 and was 3M-New Ulm’s only such engineer for more than 30 years.

On May 6, 1967, Roger married Lois “Toots” Hartl, and together they built a house and raised two children, Jill and Michael. In addition to his job at 3M, Roger served on the auxiliary police force for five years and was a volunteer firefighter with the New Ulm Fire Department from 1975 to 1996. He served as treasurer for 12 of those years and achieved the rank of lieutenant. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1998, Roger underwent months of aggressive treatment and lived the rest of his days cancer free. In July 2001, he and Toots retired from 3M on the same day, having worked 35 and 14 years respectively. Months later, Roger started his retirement job driving school bus for New Ulm Bus Lines, his route taking him to Hanska and back twice a day for the next 21 years. He was a favorite driver for the New Ulm Eagles boys’ and girls’ tennis teams and Kids’ Connection and was named Bus Driver of the Year in 2009. Roger also served as an election judge. In 2012, Roger took on the role of caregiver for Toots when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and worked hard to support her in their home until she eventually moved to a memory-care community in 2017. Roger enjoyed woodworking, tracking the weather, making sauerkraut, riding his Cushman, charting his investments, listening to KNUJ, and having morning coffee and talking politics with his Burger King crew. But work was his thing. Roger worked. He was a kind, generous man who worked hard, got his hands dirty, and took pride in everything he did.

Memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Brown County Humane Society are preferred in lieu of flowers.

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