Sheldon Roger combined a love of medicine with a taste for sports when he took on his dream job as an orthopedic physician for the Denver Nuggets.
Roger, an avid sports fan, who was 86 when he died Saturday, held the position for 12 years.
But Roger was more than just a sports-loving orthopedist.
“Very simply, Shelly Roger was my definition of a true Renaissance man. He was clearly recognized as a top orthopedic surgeon in town, he was an amazing pianist, he was accomplished in so many areas,” said John Hanley, who was Roger’s neighbor for 23 years.
The second of three children born to a tailor in Gary, Ind., Roger began playing piano when he was 5.
He later learned to play violin and performed in his high school orchestra, where he also acted as concert master.
To earn money while still in high school, he played piano for ballet classes.
“My family spent a lot of time around the piano with Shelly and his family, and he would entertain us for hours playing requests and songs of all kinds,” Hanley said. “He was amazing, really.”
During the final three years of his life, he would go to retirement homes and play for memory care patients, said his son, Stephen Roger.
He did that, in spite of his own failing health, because he wanted to bring joy to people who had so little in their own lives, said his stepson, David Rudnick .
Roger was passionate about sports, a fan of the Broncos, and other Denver pro teams. He was also an accomplished golfer, who won many tournaments while a member of Green Gables County Club.
“The guy was a heck of a golfer,” Hanley said. “I remember one time he was at a charity event and he came home with a new car.”
He always walked the course, rather than riding in a golf cart, Rudnick said. “He carried his own bags. There was a time when he was in his 80s and his buddies were in their 90s, and this group of jokers was carrying their clubs around and they beat the young people.”
But above all he was a doctor who held high standards of care.
He received a degree in medicine from Indiana University on his 24th birthday and then held a residency in surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
He served as a captain in the U.S. Army medical corps from 1955 to 1957, and in 1960 completed his residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
He practiced orthopedics at Rose Medical Center and at the Veterans Administration Hospital.
In 1997 and 1998, he acted as the VA’s chief of orthopedics.
He and his wife, Carol, a real estate broker who is active in a number of charitable organizations, were social and had numerous friends.
In the Cherry Hills North neighborhood where he lived, neighbors would come to him with questions about health matters, Hanley said.
“He was a kind friend, and neighbor to all of us,” he said.
Contributions in his name can be made to The Denver Hospice, or the Alzheimer’s Association, Colorado Chapter.
He is survived by his wife, Carol Roger; sons, David Roger, David Rudnick, Stephen Roger, Jeffrey Roger; daughter, Stephanie Kingdom; brother, Burton Roger, and nine grandchildren.
A service will be held for Roger 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Hebrew Educational Alliance in Denver.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or @dpmcghee
