Roger A. Laws, 69, of Granite City, Illinois passed away at 10:44 p.m. on Friday, July 24, 2020 at Barnes Jewish Extended Care in Brentwood, Missouri after a short battle with lung cancer. He was born May 16, 1951 in Paragould, Arkansas, a son of the late Jesse and Clarice (Woodward) Laws. He married Donna J. (Hill) Laws on November 3, 1972 at St. John United Church of Christ in Granite City and she survives. He retired in 2012 from Granite City Steel after 39 years of dedicated service as a steelworker. He was a faithful member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Granite City where he was an active member of the Men’s Club where he devoted much time for many activities. He was a 3rd Degree member of the Knights of Columbus Tri-Cities Council #1098 in Granite City. He had coached and cheered for the Holy Family School boys and girls basketball teams for over 30 years. He was an alumni of Milliken University where he had played baseball. Roger had a love of music and sports throughout his life and was an extreme fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, Mizzou Tigers and the Holy Family Hawks. No matter how you knew him, Roger, Rog, Coach Rogbo, Uncle Rog or Grandpa Roger, he will be great missed. He was proud of his family and especially his two grandchildren whom will be lucky to hear plenty of stories through the years. In addition to his beloved wife of over 47 years, he is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Matthew and Kristin Laws of Granite City; two cherished grandchildren, Lucy and Benjamin Laws; a brother and sister-in-law, Ron and Corinne Laws of Chicago; two sisters, Carole Whitford of Granite City and Kathy Grant of Alton; two sisters-in-laws and brothers-in-law, Rena and Jerome Boyer of Granite City and Janice and Kevin Wilson of Granite City; nieces and nephews, Hannah and Meredith Wilson, Blake Boyer, Leah Cathorall, Jessica Smith and Robert Laws; other extended family and many friends. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother-in-law, David Hill. In celebration of his life, a drive-through visitation will be at Irwin Chapel, 3960 Maryville Road in Granite City on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Holy Family Catholic Church in Granite City on Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. with Father Steve Thompson as celebrant. Memorials may be made to the Holy Family School and may be accepted at the funeral home or church. www.irwinchapel.com
