Henry W. Roehler

Henry W. Roehler, age 97, of Fairmont, Minnesota, passed away on March 10, 2026, at Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center in Fairmont.

Born in Fairmont on November 26, 1928, to Carrie (Reinke) Roehler and William (Bill) Roehler, Henry grew up at the sheriff’s residence while his father served as sheriff of Martin County. He attended Central School and Fairmont High School, graduating in 1947. Just days after graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army, later serving in the medical corps in Japan during the Korean War. He earned a BS degree in 1954 and an MA degree in 1958 in geology from the University of Wyoming.

Henry built a distinguished career as a geologist. He worked as an oil and gas exploration geologist and district geologist for Mountain Fuel Supply Company in Rock Springs, Wyoming, conducted oil shale research for the Bureau of Mines in Laramie, and spent many years with the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, Colorado, retiring in 1992. He returned to Fairmont, where he lived for the remainder of his life. In 1958 he married Salley Johnson in Rock Springs.

An Eagle Scout, accomplished outdoorsman, and dedicated scientist, Henry made significant contributions to the understanding of the geology of southwest Wyoming and northwest Colorado. He mapped extensive areas, explored for oil, gas, oil shale, coal, zeolites, and other minerals, named and described eleven new Eocene geologic formations, and discovered vast coal resources on Alaska’s North Slope. He published 91 technical papers and 13 books, lectured widely, and received several honors including election to Sigma Xi and the A. I. Levorsen Award. His fossil collections reside at the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Wyoming, and Gustavus Adolphus College.

He is survived by his wife Salley, daughter Susan Lesser, three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.