Roger Stanley Bumstead

It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Roger Stanley Bumstead, age 89 of Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 17, 2015. Roger was born in Oak Park, Illinois the oldest of two sons born to Stanley and Lillian Bumstead, and is survived by his brother Earl. After his service in the Army Air Corps, Roger married his high school sweetheart, Vivienne Rose Clark in Chicago in June 1948. The newlyweds moved to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois where Roger completed his degree in Wildlife Management at the University of Illinois. Shortly after graduation, Roger and Vivienne moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he started his career with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and found his calling. In Arizona, Roger and Vivienne welcomed their three children into the family, Susan, Thomas, and Richard. In 1961 Roger accepted a position with the U.S. Forest Service as a Wildlife Biologist. Subsequent moves to Flagstaff, Arizona, Taos, New Mexico, Missoula, Montana, and Albuquerque, New Mexico saw Roger promoted to working in the Forest Service Regional Offices where his expertise in both Elk and Grizzly Bear management earned him the trust and respect of both academicians and his fellow conservationists. Roger was an environmentalist before the term was coined, and was instrumental in founding the Southwest Section of The Wildlife Society (which honored him in 2014 with a Lifetime Achievement Award) and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. He passed that love and respect of nature to his three children during the many outings they took as a family. An avid waterfowl and upland game bird hunter, his trips to Freezeout Lake in Montana were an autumnal ritual in his life. Roger lost Vivienne to cancer after a brief battle in June 1984. In August 1985, Roger married Rose Louise Miller and retired from the Forest Service in 1986. During his retirement, he became an avid golfer and in his 80th year, he shot an 80 for 18 holes, and swam most mornings before the sun rose, heeding the advice of his doctors after a heart attack in the late 1980s. He became the model patient for how to take care of oneself in retirement, and was in excellent health until a diagnosis of cancer earlier this year. He passed away at home with loved ones nearby.
Roger is survived by his wife Louise; children Susan, Thomas (Consetta Helmick) and Richard, three grandchildren (Nicole, Ryan, and Lizbeth) and one great grandchild (Dylan); and step-children Brenda, Michelle (Rick Yates), and Stephanie, four step-grandchildren (Jennifer, Leslie, Jacoa, and Anastasia), and three step-great grandchildren (Caiden, Jackson and Makenna). He was preceded in death by one step-grandchild, Joseph Yates. A private graveside service will be held and memorials can be sent to either the Southwest Section of The Wildlife Society (www.wildife.org) or the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (www.rmef.org).