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Roger F. Casale, 76, of Peachtree City, passed away on Feb. 9, 2021 following a long, issue with heart disease. He was born in Williamsport on June 20, 1944 to the late Dominic and Emma Jane Casale. Roger is survived by Ann Casale; sons Dominic Casale, Matthew Casale, and David Taylor; daughter, Erin Johnson; six wonderful grandchildren, Roger Casale, Mary Casale, Casey Currul, Thomas Taylor, Nick Johnson, and Lyndsey Johnson; one terrific great-grandson, Cade Currul; sisters, Donna Harvey, Joetta Hyland, and Jenny Knerr; and his brother, Max Casale. Roger began his military career at the age of 17, enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1962. He was selected to attend Officer Candidate School in 1966. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1967 and volunteered for service in Vietnam. He served as a platoon leader in Pleiku, Vietnam and later as a company commander in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. After returning home, Roger attended the Army Personnel Officers Course and later completed the Adjutant General Career Officers Course at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. After five years of attending night school pursuing his college education, he graduated with honors with a degree in business administration from Parsons College in 1972. Captain Casale left active duty in 1973 to own and operate three sandwich shops while remaining active with the Reserves. In 1980 Major Casale was selected as one of the 50 Reserve officers to teach Army ROTC on college campuses. He sold his businesses and returned to active service in 1981 as associate professor of military science at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. He taught military history and senior cadet drill team. He completed the U.S. Army Command and staff college in August 1983. In 1986, Major Casale was reassigned to Forces Command in Atlanta, Ga., where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given the mission to establish a family support program for military families throughout the country. LTC Casale retired in 1989, having earned more than 13 individual awards and decorations, including The Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation (Second Award) while serving in Vietnam. After retiring, LTC Casale was hired as a Department of Army Civilian for the Army's Morale, Welfare and Recreation Program. He developed a unique customer service training program called Operation Excellence. The program was designated the Army standard for customer service training throughout the Army and worldwide. In 1999, Roger was selected to serve as director of community operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina under Operation Joint Forge. He was charged with providing MWR services to five base camps throughout the country. Roger earned four civilian awards for Meritorious Service and a second Special Act Award for introducing a new food concept. He retired from Civil Service in 2002 with the grade of GS-13.
Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Chapel of Mowell Funeral Home, Peachtree City. There will be a visitation from noon to 1 p.m. prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs.