Roger Terk is the father of Jason Terk '85 and the grandfather of Joshua Terk '17. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers.
Roger Hurley Terk Roger Hurley Terk took his final breath on September 10, 2020, after living a life of gentleness and kindness. Roger was born on July 16, 1931, in Duluth, Minnesota, to Philip and Sadie (Horwitz) Terk. As a child, he lived in Chicago and then moved with his family to Houston and then Dallas. He was very close to his older brother David and his younger sister Sara. Roger's early life was impacted by the untimely passing of his mother Sadie when he was only 16. He attended Texas A&M University and was in the Corps of Cadets and graduated in 1955 with a degree in veterinary medicine and then served in the US Army for a time. He then settled in Odessa, Texas, where he started his first veterinary practice and where he practiced small animal veterinary medicine. There, he met his future wife Penny Lynn Wagstaff who he wed in 1966. His son Jason was born in 1967 and his daughter Eve was born in 1969. Roger loved being a father to his children and reveled in watching them grow and find their passions. The Terk family moved to Kilgore, Texas, in 1974 where Roger again started another successful veterinary practice which still exists under the leadership of his protégé Dr. Terry Ray. Roger practiced small animal veterinary medicine for almost 40 years and treated thousands of animals over the course of his successful career. So many people loved Roger because, simply put, he was a beautiful person. He cared most about the natural world around him. A blooming flower, a majestic tree, or a spider's woven web were the sort of things which gave him joy. Roger expressed that joy through many photographs and he prolifically wrote stories and poems about the flora and fauna around him. It was his passion for writing which led him to meet and ultimately become companions with Barbara Wedgwood whom he loved until her passing in 2015. Always the frustrated idealist, Roger hoped his fellow man would eventually come around to doing the right thing by others and by the world we share with nature. He gravitated to people who were vulnerable and helped them on a deeply personal level. We who survive him will remember the fishing trips, the weekly penny ante poker nights, the Rangers baseball games, his travel to the ends of the earth to experience more of this beautiful world, and his immense pride in his children and grandchildren. Roger is survived by his son, Jason V. Terk, M.D., and daughter-in-law Rose Terk, of Keller, TX; his daughter Eve Lynn Victoria Holder, of Dallas, TX; his grandchildren Joshua and Colin Terk, and Victoria and Taylor Holder; his sister Sara Shiloff, of El Paso, TX; his half-brothers Michael Terk, of Amarillo, TX, and Jay Terk, of Austin, TX; and many nephews and nieces as well as his special cousin Bette Ron, of Gan Schmuel, Israel. He is also survived by the many friends who loved him which include his poker buddies, neighbors, professional colleagues, and the caregivers who provided him a soft landing at the end of his beautiful life. Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas |