Roger, a native of Ottawa, Illinois, earned his B.S. in Education in Industrial Technology and Mathematics at Western Illinois University. He has played trumpet and baritone in groups such as Bloomington's Community Players Theater (in the pit) and tenor horn with the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band. He is currently a member of the Pontiac Municipal Band and the Bloomington Community Band.

He lives in Bloomington with his wife, Barbara Hodge Shearer, who is also a talented musician. Roger is employed as a tool room machinist at Morton Welding in Morton, Illinois. When he's not playing music or working, you can find Roger fishing on one of the many bodies of water around Bloomington.

With the 10th Cavalry, Roger plays a Tenor Saxhorn made by Adolph Sax, manufactured in Paris France.