Roger Buffett

Madison - Roger Buffett, age 77, of Madison, passed away peacefully on May 8th, 2016 at Agrace Hospice Care, surrounded by family. He had been fighting for ten months to survive the terrible car crash he suffered on July 2, 2015, traveling on I-90 East outside Chicago. He eventually succumbed to complications related to that crash.

Roger was born on April 13th, 1939 in Milwaukee, the son of chemist George M. Buffett and Helen L. Buffett (Guthrie). He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and Whitefish Bay, WI. Roger excelled in music & academic pursuits from an early age; this led him to Oberlin College, where he could often be seen standing up for justice, carrying protest signs, even though he sometimes stood alone. When he did sit down, at the Class of 1961 graduation, it was to discover himself seated next to his future wife, Jane Elizabeth Burrows.

Roger went West to earn his Masters in Divinity at Pacific School of Religion in the Bay Area, where he was ordained as a UCC pastor.

He went still farther, doing a year of work in Ghana from 1963-1964.

He married Jane Elizabeth Burrows on July 11th, 1964 at Riverside Church in New York City.

He and Jane moved to Columbus, Montana, where Roger served as pastor at a small church. In 1970, Roger was made associate pastor at Avon Lake UCC, in Ohio, not far from his and Jane's alma mater.

In the fall of 1974, he returned to Wisconsin, moving with his family to earn a J.D. from the UW-Madison Law School. While giving occasional sermons, and performing a handful of weddings and funerals, he spent the rest of his working life as an attorney, working mostly in private practice, helping people however he could, prioritizing service over profit, continuing his ministry as a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Roger was a dedicated member of the Optimists' Club, a UW Women's Basketball season-ticket-holder, and a contributing member of the UCC church.

Favorite moments included canoe trips to the Boundary Waters with his church community, working the Badger football concession stands with the Optimists, working with Jane in their garden and time with family and church community. He also enjoyed traveling -- both following Jane's diagnosis with Multiple Myeloma and later in life, including a recent trip in March 2015 to Selma, Alabama to celebrate the fight for voting rights.

He is survived by his two sons, Perry and Carl, two daughters-in-law, Sara and Audrey, four grandchildren, Erika & Aly, Simon & Zelia, and by his sister Barbara.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Jane, and by his daughter, Vera.

A memorial service for Roger will be held on Saturday, June 4th at 1pm at Madison Christian Community, 7118 Old Sauk Rd., Madison, 53717, (608) 824-1762. A reception at the church will immediately follow the service.

At a separate ceremony, Roger's ashes will be interred at the First Lutheran Cemetery at Old Sauk & Pleasant View Roads, alongside the gravesites of his wife, and his daughter.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to Community of Hope, United Church of Christ, 7118 Old Sauk Road, Madison, WI 53717. Community of Hope was Roger's spiritual home for over forty years. His deep desire was that it be supported to continue its ministries of welcome and justice, which were so dear to his heart and to that of his wife Jane.


Cress Funeral and Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road
Madison, WI 53705
608-238-3434