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Submitted: 2/23/21 • Approved: 2/23/21 • Last Updated: 2/26/21 • R392175-G0-S3
1938-2008
Shared stone with Wanda Lee
Their life together goes on forever
Photo, courtesy of Edith Guynes Stanley
*Obituary
BORGER - Roger W. Klause, 70, died Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Bible Baptist Church with the Rev. Leonard Forsythe, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park by Minton-Chatwell Funeral Directors.
Roger, beloved husband of Borger City Manager Wanda Klause, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, teacher and world-class entertainer, died Saturday after a long bout with cancer.
Roger and Wanda met in 1952, quickly became high school sweethearts and married Aug. 20, 1955, in Clayton, N.M. During the next five decades, they loved each other, taught each other, supported each other, raised four children and enjoyed life at each other's side.
Second only to Wanda, Roger's lifelong passion was the study and practice of sleight-of-hand magic. Starting his serious study at the age of 19, Roger quickly set himself apart and in a very few years became recognized for his insight and approach. By the time he was in his mid-20s, he was known to the top practitioners in the field.
His reputation grew until Roger became a regular fixture at magic gatherings, sought by magicians of all levels and from all continents. By the time he was 30, he had developed and earned the reputation for masterful and skillful sleight of hand. His routines regularly bewildered other magicians who found themselves unable to penetrate his methods, and he frequently perplexed the other masters - the ones who "could not be fooled."
By 40, Roger had lectured to and taught many of the finest magicians around the world, some of whom traveled great distances to meet him. At one point, he was famously dubbed, "The Leader of the Underground," signifying his importance to the fraternity and his influence on those he met and the respect he had earned from his peers.
At home, Roger humbly tended to his family and affairs, never boasting or feeling the need to exhibit his skill for his own satisfaction. He frequently entertained for civic and other organizations in and around Borger and did what he could to bring a little joy to everyone he met. He was a never-ending source of stories and humor and loved to engage in banter and the delivery of witty jokes.
Roger had done what many wish they could, which is to carve, both at home and abroad, a niche that no one else can fill. His contributions to his family, his community and to tens of thousands of magicians the world over cannot be overestimated and will never be forgotten.
He was preceded in death by a son, Roger William Klause; his parents, William Horn Klause and Frances Odell Klause; a brother, William "Billy" Klause; and a sister, Frances Diane Klause.
Survivors include his wife, Wanda; a son, Kevin of Philadelphia; two daughters, Shari Klause of Seattle and Keri Ballard and husband Tuxie of Borger; two brothers, Richard Klause of Charlotte, N.C., and Mike Klause of Colorado Springs, Colo.; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Amarillo Globe-News, Aug. 31, 2008
Contributed on 2/23/21 by neldapat
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Record #: 392175