Submitted Photo An unnamed volunteer honors Rugby veteran, the late Roger Christ Schell, during the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s In Memory ceremony held at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on June 15.

A Rugby veteran who died at the age of 51 was among more than 650 Vietnam veterans honored June 15 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s (VVMF) In Memory ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Roger Christ Schell died from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma due to exposure to agent orange during his service.

The VVMF In Memory program recognizes Vietnam veterans who returned home from Vietnam and later died. These veterans are honored during the VVMF’s In Memory weekend, which includes a ceremony where each veteran’s name is read at “The Wall” and are given an online personal remembrance page on the In Memory Honor Roll. A digital display of honorees’ photos also travels with The Wall That Heals, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed to travel to communities throughout the United States.

Schell was drafted into the U.S. Army on June 4, 1966, at the age of 20 and was assigned as a construction machine and air compressor operator.

He grew up on a farm in the Rugby area and was the youngest of five children.

After returning from Vietnam, Schell met his future wife, Angie Busch, in 1968 while she was working at a local implement store. The couple wed in 1968 and were married for 28 years before his passing.

After their wedding, the couple moved to Wyoming where Schell worked on an oil rig until 1972.

The couple returned to the Rugby area when Busch’s father, Joe Brossart, needed assistance on his farm. Schell worked as a farmer until the mid-1980s and moved himself and his family back into the town of Rugby where he started working as a custodian for Rugby High School.

Schell and Busch had four children, Duane Schell, Laurie Odden, Joe Schell and Renae Stratton.

When Odden spoke of her childhood she said her family worked hard, played hard and valued family time. Every Sunday after church her family would head over to her grandparents’ homes. She recalled visiting her Grandpa Schell’s house and treasured the memory of sharing a pop in little cups between her three siblings.

“My dad was a lot like my grandpa but I think all the boys in that family didn’t say much. But when they said something you should probably listen because it was worthwhile listening to … His calmness – he just always seemed so strong to me. He was always strong but he was a joker, I remember he liked to play jokes and he’d get you every time because you just didn’t expect it,” Odden said.

“He instilled a strong work ethic in us. On top of a normal job he also worked with us to mow lawns, do snow removal and maintenance at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Growing up with him as a dad you learned a lot. He could fix anything – anything from car repairs to home maintenance, it didn’t matter. He could tackle anything,” Joe Schell said.

Roger Schell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1994 as a result of his service in Vietnam. The following years he underwent chemotherapy and searched for a bone marrow match for a necessary transplant. After no family members were determined to be a match, doctors harvested his own healthy marrow cells and he underwent a transplant in Minneapolis in October 1996. He died five months later in March 1997. His youngest daughter was just a senior in high school.

“Work ethic, integrity, character, faith, family, humble, soft spoken, intentional. Do what you say. Do the right thing,” Duane Schell said while describing his father.

Busch first became aware of In Memory in November 2023 and submitted an application on Dec. 9, 2023. She said the process was easy and there was staff ready to help her via email. Schell was approved for the program just 11 days later.

“It’s just really nice that they established this program so that there’s a way to honor and do justice to everyone who was part of the Vietnam War,” Odden said.