Roger Wainhouse Nathan

Roger Wainhouse Nathan was born in Cleveland, Ohio, June 1, 1928. His father, Harry Nathan, was born in the USA of immigrant Romanian parents; his mother Julia was the littlest child (3) on the ship bringing refugees from Vilna, Lithuania, to the US because they were fleeing pogroms by Russian occupiers. Harry was a creative American entrepreneur. Julia became a cellist.

Roger grew up in Detroit, MI where his parents moved from Cleveland for better economic opportunity. But the Sharon, PA area was, he used to say, “wall to wall Nathans” —his father’s people. There he had the best memories of Jewish culture, travel for the High Holidays and great family gatherings. His mother’s family had settled farther east, around Swamscott, MA. He spent delightful summers there and had the fondest memories of his Wainhouse cousins and his Aunt Frances, who made sure he got milk, fresh air and fresh vegetables during difficult economic times.

Roger was Bar Mitzvah in Detroit as a traditional 12-year-old Jewish boy. His parents were eager for assimilation as they understood the horrors of the Holocaust. Even so, here in the USA, like many a child of his era, Roger was beaten, spat on and cursed for being a Jewish child in a largely non-Jewish neighborhood. As he grew up in the Detroit area, his parents also sent him to Fresh Air Camp, outside of Detroit. There was good food, great outdoors, values formation, and a lot of fun. From age 9 to 19, he returned summer after summer, becoming a camp counselor. Years later he would remember a new table full of little boys whose constant plea was “moa bwed, moa bwed” —more bread, more bread. These were children of the Holocaust, but no one spoke of it.

Roger was drafted into the US Army during the Korean war and spent most of his time at Fort Bliss, Texas, with some time in San Antonio and some fun in Mexico. He was Honorably discharged as a Colonel, having served in the mental health clinic at Fort Bliss, TX.

Roger earned his Masters in Sociology from Wayne State University in Detroit. He then pursued a course for social work at the University of Chicago after his Army service. He lived in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, where social justice was becoming an imperative need and there was lively support for community organizing. Roger went to work for the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and was deeply engaged working to quell the heat of boiling race-relations in the city, state and nation.

He was subsequently hired as the Executive Director of the Illinois State Commission on Human Relations and served under three Illinois governors, developing and expanding the work of that commission and putting out explosive situations as far south as Cairo, IL. Following those years of service in state government, Roger entered the private sector. The late ’60s were a time of profound tumult and change. His engaging personality led him to work in sales for a variety of corporations, including Urban Investment and Development in Chicago.

Simultaneously, through his volunteer work on the board of directors of the Jane Addams Hull House, Chicago, IL Northside, Roger met a volunteer worker at an annual charity event. (It was actually a blind date arranged by a Hull House colleague.) The chemistry was immediate and resulted in a 50-year marriage to Simone Jurack. The couple worked as a team in their own company, Nathan PR, consulting to hospitals, universities, galleries and small businesses. The couple moved from Chicago, IL to Williams Bay, WI, to begin their retirement years. Roger then spent a decade volunteering with young adults with severe disabilities at SMILES, INC. assisting in equine therapy.

He was married for nearly 51 years to Simone Jurack Nathan, the love of his life, his best friend and faithful partner. They shared a beautiful ceremonial Renewal of Vows celebration in April, last year.

Roger is survived by his brother, Richard, of Delray Beach, FL; his wife Simone and three god-daughters, Allison Blakley of Northbrook, IL; Tara Norris of Marietta, GA; and Stefanie Lenz of East Troy, WI. Each of them loved him deeply, as he loved and nurtured them. Roger also tenderly advocated for dogs, horses, cats and birds all his life.

Roger supported research and public education surrounding the plight of birds. Please direct memorial gifts to the Cornell Univeristy Laboratory of Ornithology and/or the Good Earth Church of the Divine, an Interfaith community where his wife, Simone is the founding pastor. Roger was the morning greeter there for many years in support of her work.

Visitation will be held at Krause Funeral Home, 12401 West National Avenue, New Berlin, Wisconsin on Thursday, April 4, 2024 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Service at 12:00 PM.

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