Roger A. Rider

He was born on the 28th of May 1945, in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, to Joseph Weber Rider and Evelyn Kuntzman. In 1951, at the age of six, Roger and his family moved to Bellaire, Texas, and he spent the rest of his life residing in the Houston area. During his time at Horn Elementary and Long Junior High School, Roger made many friends, with many of whom he would remain close for the rest of his life.

Roger was a lifelong fan of the Astros, remembering fondly riding his bicycle to nearby Colt Stadium to watch the original Colt .45s and then attending the very first game of the newly renamed Houston Astros in the Astrodome. Roger spent his formative years traversing the streets of Bellaire and was known to refer to the city as his “old stomping grounds” any time he was in the area. He was very close with his older sister Sandra Rider Perdue, who occasionally would chauffeur her younger brother on dates before he could drive himself, and Roger described Sandra as his best friend until she passed away in 2001.

Roger attended Bellaire High School, graduating in 1963, but Roger spent most of his free time working at the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company to help make ends meet for his family.

Roger attended Rice University from 1963-1965, before unceremoniously dropping out to take a year or two off from his studies. The decision proved to be one of the more momentous turning points in his life, as he was soon after drafted into the Marine Corps, serving from February 1966 until December 1968. Upon completing basic training, Roger served in Vietnam from November 1967 until ending his service in 1968 and was stationed at Camp Horn with the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

Upon completing his term of service, Roger returned to Houston and resumed his studies at the University of Houston, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 1971 and further earning a Juris Doctorate, Magnum Cum Laude, in 1974. During his time at the University of Houston Law Center, he was Editor of the Houston Law Review and Chief, Order of the Barons Honor Society.

Upon passing the bar exam, Roger joined the law firm of Butler & Binion, one of the premier law firms in the Houston area, as an associate. He became a partner at Butler & Binion six years later in 1980 after establishing himself as one of the up-and-coming trial lawyers in the city. Over the course of his career, he practiced with several firms, but spent the last 15 years of his career as a solo practitioner. He tried nearly 80 jury trials and was successful in winning most of them. In 2008, he returned to his alma matter as an Adjunct Professor of Law, teaching an advance litigation course on Remedies for several years.

In 1981, Roger met the love of his life, Nancy Huston. He had a case against Nancy’s best friend, Gail Johns, who introduced Roger to Nancy on St. Patrick’s Day in 1981. Recognizing that these two were heading somewhere, Gail turned that lawsuit over to her partner so that she wouldn’t have to get crossways with Roger. It all turned out well, and Roger and Nancy married on the 8th of May 1982. They were married for the remainder of their lives, until Nancy tragically passed away in May of 2021. They celebrated their 39th anniversary just a few weeks before her passing.

Nancy and Roger had two sons. Matthew Huston Rider was born on the 9th of October 1983, and lives in Park City, Utah. Zachary Alan Rider was born on the 28th of June 1985, and lives in Houston, where he practices law at Vinson & Elkins. Roger was a dedicated and loving father, who volunteered as a coach on many of their sports teams, and where he couldn’t, made sure to attend every game. He was a constant source of strength and support for both his sons, who viewed their father as their greatest friend.

Throughout his career, Roger was an active and engaged member of multiple professional legal societies. He served as President of the Houston Young Lawyers Association from 1980-1981, a Director of the Houston Bar Association from 1981-1986, and Secretary of the Houston Bar Association from 1990-1991. Further, he was a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a Life Fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation.

In addition, Roger earned several honors and accolades over the course of his life. Before his retirement in 2018, Roger was an Advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, selected as a Texas Super Lawyer, selected as a Top Lawyer by HTexas Magazine, rated AV Pre-eminent by Martindale-Hubbell, and a Member of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.

Roger was a dedicated and enthusiastic golfer, who cherished playing frequently with a group of close friends (known simply as the “golf group”) nearly every week for the last several years of his life.

He also devoted a great deal of his time for various charitable causes about which he was very passionate. For several years, he organized a charity golf event to raise funds for wounded veterans. In addition, he spent many years as a volunteer mentor to students at Kennedy Elementary School. He took great joy in the end-of-term pizza parties he would host for the kids each year.

Roger is survived by his sons, Matthew and Zachary; his niece, Pamela Perdue and her husband Eric Van Wormer (Orlando); sister-in-law, Kathleen Huston and her husband Steve Liter (Austin); brother-in-law, George Huston (Austin); and nephews, Colin Huston-Liter (Dallas) and Cory Liter and his wife Audry (Austin).

The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Texas Medical Center for their care and treatment of Roger over the last nine months.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o'clock in the afternoon until seven o'clock in the evening on Wednesday, the 22nd of June, in the grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service is to be conducted at twelve o'clock noon on Thursday, the 23rd of June, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons where Marty Vershel will serve as celebrant.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent grand foyer.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions be directed to the Houston Food Bank at 535 Portwall St., Houston, TX 77029 (or simply select the link below the "Donations" header.

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