Roger William Lieske

Roger William Lieske, 88, of Stewartstown PA passed away peacefully with the love of his life by his side on April 9, 2026. Born on June 9, 1937, in Baltimore, MD, he was the son of the late Harry William Lieske and Frieda Helene Gesina (nee Horn) Lieske. He was predeceased by his sister, Lorraine Simpson. Roger lived a full and remarkable life. He touched the hearts of everyone he met through his patience, his commitment to accuracy and truth, and his desire to serve the Lord.

Roger was active in his church youth group, the Walther League, and first met his wife, Sue, at Camp Pioneer, an LCMS affiliated camp on Lake Erie in Angola, NY. They married on July 9th, 1960, in Buffalo, NY. Roger lived a life of deep love and devotion to Sue for 789 months. Their enduring bond was evident in the way that they recognized their anniversary every month.

Roger was a proud graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (1954) and Johns Hopkins University where he earned his BSEE (1960) through the Johns Hopkins University Awards Program and then went on to complete several MSEE graduate classes.

He began his career in 1954, even before graduating from high school, and he went on to spend more than 50 years with Westinghouse, later Northrop Grumman, retiring in 2004 as a Senior Advisory EO/IR Systems Engineer. He continued to share his expertise as a consultant for an additional 16 years.

Over the course of his remarkable career, he contributed to the development of camera and imaging systems for numerous satellites, working primarily in remote sensing from space beginning in 1962. Earlier in his career, he provided instrumentation systems for RADAR flight testing and FBM submarines.

He also worked in integration and testing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on the UK-2 and AIMP-D&E missions, the latter launched from Cape Kennedy and inserted into lunar orbit to study the magnetosphere. Models of satellites he helped develop were displayed at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.

For more than 42 years, he played a key role in the evolution of polar-orbiting satellite electro-optical sensor systems for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), which captures global nighttime imagery of Earth while also gathering critical weather data. Later, he contributed to the OrbView 3 and 4 satellites, designed to provide high-resolution images of the Earth.

If you scanned the above three paragraphs and felt like you still have no idea what he did, that’s the way his immediate family felt! Most of it was classified, and they didn’t understand it anyway.

In addition to his involvement in taking pictures from space, Roger enjoyed taking photographs of God’s beautiful creations - from the smallest intricacies or vastness of nature to the varied emotions displayed on the faces of his grandchildren. He and Sue enjoyed visiting (while he photographed) botanical gardens, coasts, and national parks around the country. He found great joy in sharing his photographs, whether through many family slide shows in the living room, or by displaying matted and framed photographic gems on walls and even sharing them with the public at a local library.

He and his beloved wife, Sue, generously opened their home—welcoming and caring for eight foster children, in addition to their own. Their yard was home to the many rabbits and honeybees they raised and often became a gathering place for the neighborhood kids—used as a park and wiffle ball field where children played and friendships grew. At birthday parties, Mr. Rog delighted children with his “endless cone” of ice cream—so long as they could resist eating the cone itself.

Roger also enjoyed gardening—their yard in Catonsville was featured on a community secret garden tour—and had a deep appreciation for the humor and quirks of the English language, often delighting in examples like a Seattle sign that read, “No Parking East of This Sign,” and asking, “How far east?” Full of wit, he loved puns and wordplay; those who knew him well could always tell a joke was coming by the twinkle in his eye and the slight flare of his nose.

Roger’s biggest passion was honoring God in all that he did, as a good steward of the talents, blessings, and training given him. He was dedicated and very active in leadership of the multicultural Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in urban Baltimore for over 40 years, and then at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Parkton, MD. He lived his life in service to God, actively showing patience and compassion for people. He was a champion for raising others up, including participating in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom with MLK, Jr (1963), his lifelong support of multiple missions and charities, with both time and finances, locally and worldwide, to spread the Word of God, combat local and world hunger, preserve the environment, support humanity and life (hunger, poverty, medical aid, human crisis relief, etc.). He served in the roles of Elder and Council President for many years at each church, and as board member and Secretary of the New Freedom Heritage Society in PA, where he also used his photography skills.

As a family, we are having a hard time accurately (because accuracy was important to him) describing the life or impact he had. He loved our mother to his dying breath. He showed all of us how to be faithful and committed to our families, while still focusing his talents on serving others and spreading God’s word. He was the smartest man we knew. He was funny. He was detailed. He spent hours in amazement at the intricacies of God’s creation, taking picture after picture of panoramic views or zoomed-in flowers. He was gentle. He was generous. He was a peaceful leader. He loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and loved spending time with them.

“PopPop” was THE homework helpline expert for children and grandchildren (and probably responsible for multiple middle school science fair awards given to his grandchildren). Although Mary remembers that he tried teaching her calculus, when all she wanted to know was the answer to an easy algebra question. He was always thorough.

In recent years, Dad and Mom brought the now expanded family together each summer in Bethany Beach for a cherished week of bonding, catching and eating crabs, making memories, and enjoying time together. He often put the needs of others before his own, a quality that defined his life and love for his family. These annual gatherings are memories our family will always treasure.

Roger will be lovingly remembered and missed by his wife of 789 months, Suzanne Marie (nee Keys) Lieske, his children Mary Holle (husband Wayne) of Stewartstown, PA, Anne Wigent (husband Steven) of Fairport, NY, and John Lieske (wife Gosia) of Dillon, CO; his 8 grandchildren, Timothy Holle (wife Alexandra) of MD, Elizabeth Hayter (husband Benjamin) of IL, Daniel Holle (wife Julia) of NE, Anna Pieper (husband Noah) of MO, Zachariah Wigent of NY, Deborah Toenjes (husband Ben) of WA, Nathaniel Wigent of NY, and Rachael Holle of PA; and his 4 great grand-children, Lazarus Hayter, Samuel Pieper, Caleb Toenjes, and Bartimaeus Hayter, as well as cherished extended family, his church families both present and past, his former co-workers, and friends.

Public visitation will be held on Friday, April 24th, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Hartenstein Funeral & Cremation Care, Inc. - Stewartstown (19 S. Main Street, Stewartstown PA. 17363)

A worship service celebrating his Entrance into Eternal Life will be held at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Parkton, MD (20440 Downes Rd, Parkton, MD 21120) on Saturday, April 25th at 10:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers please make memorial contributions to either Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church or to a church of your choosing.

His Inurnment will be held at a future date. He would want to wait for Sue to join him.