Eulogy – Jerry Allen – Roger’s Friend

The family has allowed me the opportunity to talk about the man I knew and loved and I am so thankful.

When I started reflecting on all the fantastic experiences we have had with the Corn family;  the family vacations, the amazing camping trips (Roger was an avid camper), or just simply hanging out at each other’s home.   I always come back to how those days ended after getting everyone tucked in and safe.   Roger and I, either alone or with many of you in the audience, sitting around a fire pit, looking up at the stars, and talking about the importance of family and how proud and blessed we were to be able to give our family these experiences.

Looking at Facebook and the comments about Roger – everyone is talking about how even keeled and calm he was every day.   And he was.    But not everyone was lucky enough to see behind the scenes efforts that gave him the confidence to say things like “Oh, It will be FINE”….  or “Yea… It’s all gonna work out”.   Roger would pour endless amounts of hours and work into researching and planning and mapping everything out so that it would be the perfect experience for his family and specifically his boys.   He was very meticulous about that; and every planned vacation or outing revolved around his boys getting that perfect experience.

Whether it was,

• • • Skiing in Angelfire or Sip Pa Poo or Colorado
    • Scuba diving
    • Camping in a KOA in the back of Circus Circus in Las Vegas when it was 120 degrees
    • Having pine cone wars at the Grand Canyon
    • Eating ice cream in Lake City after going on the Jeep trails
    • Going to Yellow Stone and seeing Old Faithful and herds of buffalo
    • Taking the kids out tubing on Lake Texoma and finding the importance of not letting Shawn drive the boat….. Thumbs down means slow down Shawn.
    • Going on fantastic hikes in the mountains of Arkansas that ended in the most spectacular waterfalls and those amazing Dutch-oven pecan rolls….
    • Or playing football on the white sugary sand beaches of Gulf Shores because we could see sharks in the waves.
    • Not to mention the countless weekend trips to Cleburne State Park or Benbrook Lake for a quick camping trip and a few rounds of kick ball….

He planned all these trips so that his boys would grow up with shared family experiences of togetherness.   Remember these times fondly boys as he would want you to repeat them with your family when you have one.

Losing your father at such a young age is one of the toughest thing you will ever face.   There will be other chapters of your life where struggles will present themselves to you and your family, but you will make it through them.   In those times you are going to think… “I wish I could call or ask Dad about this …  He would know what to do.“ Look around this room boys…   Every man in this room carries a piece of your dad with them…   Pick up the phone…  Call… We are all better men for knowing Roger Corn and we will help without judgement or question, just as he would have done for our family.

That’s the Roger Corn I knew and loved… That’s the Roger Corn I will remember.