Roger Denes Lang

Roger was the child of Hungarian Holocaust survivors who met in the United States after World War II. He valued his Hungarian heritage, and enjoyed cooking traditional meals such as rizses csirke for his family and friends.

Born in Greenwich, Connecticut on February 2nd, 1950, Roger moved to New York City at age 13. Roger loved to play the violin and attended the audition school, Music and Art, now renamed LaGuardia High School. Roger went on to study at New York University. After two years there, he joined his family in Italy, who had moved there in 1968. Roger attended the University of Florence and then the American College of Switzerland in Leysin before returning to the United States to graduate from New York University.

Roger worked at a number of companies including Sultzer Brothers, National Bank of North America, and Damson Oil before joining Digital Equipment in 1985. With Digital, he frequently traveled to Europe and Asia, visiting Singapore, China, and Japan. In 1990, he became deputy general manager at Digital’s new offices in Budapest, Hungary and lived there with his family until 1995. The family then moved to Concord, MA, where Roger remained with Digital after it was bought by Compaq and later Hewlett Packard. While working at Compaq, a last minute decision not to attend a meeting in New York saved his life on 9/11, when Roger’s team was tragically killed.

In 2002 Roger took a job with Cornell Theory Center in lower Manhattan and the family moved to New Jersey. The family remained in Ridgewood, NJ until 2015 when Roger was hired by the SAS Institute, prompting his final move to Cary, NC.

Roger met his wife, Liz, in Central Park in 1982, when he stole the ball from her in a game of pick up soccer and she shouted, “Same team!” It was a true romance and a year later they were married. Liz and Roger were together for 40 happy years.

Violin continued to be a passion throughout Roger’s lifetime, and he often played in local orchestras, including the Concord Symphony Orchestra, the Ridgewood Symphony and the Really Terrible Orchestra of the Triangle, or RTOOT. Music also bridged his and Liz’s family cultures and Roger enjoyed playing duets with members of the extended family.

Roger loved gardening, which sometimes meant turning soil and planting vegetables with care, and sometimes meant hacking at bushes with his chainsaw. He was a wine connoisseur, who also enjoyed making martinis to sip while cooking dinner. He loved to travel, particularly to visit his brothers Peter and James and their families in Italy and France respectively. Roger took any excuse to buy a new gadget, from electric wine bottle openers to knife sharpeners, to the latest gaming laptop. Always a computer expert, he embraced video games and his favorite was Borderlands 2, though he played the entire Borderlands series over and over.

Roger viewed himself as a global citizen. He was funny, the life of the party, and loved to tell jokes. He enjoyed people, made many friends, and kept them throughout his life. All those who knew him will remember him above all else for his kindness and his sense of humor.

When first dating Liz, she asked his intentions and Roger said, “You don’t skip ahead to see how the book ends.” She replied, “I do.” While this is not the ending we would have picked for Roger’s story, all we can do is keep telling it to keep him in our hearts. We are grateful for a lifetime of joy and laughter.

Roger is predeceased by his parents Emery and Madelaine Lang.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Gordon, three children, Max (Sharon Lee), Becky (Masaki Katada) and Julia, and one grandchild, as well as his brothers, Peter and James, and their families.

The funeral will be held at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home’s Cary location, 200 SE Maynard Rd, Cary, NC 27511, on Sunday, September 18th at 11:00 a.m. Zoom link to view service: https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/j/92682739545 (Call also click "join livestream" in the service section of this page.)

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to the following charities:

Parkinson’s Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

CaringBridge Alumni & Friends of LaGuardia High School, P.O Box 230015, New York, NY 10023.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BrownWynneCary.com for the Lang family.