Diners approaching the restaurant at MountainView Clubhouse are greeted after dark by a striking bowl of fire that is the centerpiece of a Veteran’s Memorial. Conceived as part of the remodel of the Club House, the concept was abandoned when the remodel funds proved inadequate. Until…. Roger Swett. Roger was determined to see the project completed and, after some redesign and a lot of fundraising on his part, the plan became a reality.
Born in New York City in 1938, Roger later moved to Brooklyn, Connecticut and finally, New Jersey in 1949. He attended Hackensack High School.
Roger joined the Navy in 1956. After Yeoman School he chose Naples for his first rotation. Utilizing the University of Maryland Extension, Roger began Italian language classes. While translating dining orders for fellow sailors in a local eatery, he formed a friendship with the waiter and then other locals expanding his knowledge of the language. While still ashore in Naples, Roger and his Neapolitan friends made an eventful trip to Rome in his 1949 convertible. Roger managed to extend his two-year rotation to 40 months by transferring to a ship home ported in Naples, taking to sea every two weeks and visiting such places as Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona, Cannes, Beirut and Jerusalem.
In 1960, he returned to New Jersey and then went on to college at NYU and Seton Hall before beginning a 38-year career teaching Italian and French in North Bergen, New Jersey.
In retirement Roger moved to SaddleBrooke, then a short move back to New Jersey before making SaddleBrooke the place he calls home. He met his partner in Arizona in 2009, and they both cared for his handicapped sister.
His involvement in this community has, and is, amazing. Roger’s contributions to SaddleBrooke include:
- Unit 36 Rep (239 homes) for eight years.
- HOA-2 Board Vice President- (interface with Robson before transition).
- Chair of Unit Rep Committee for six years.
- Rules and Regulations Committee (nine years to date) - Patrol Appeals.
- Chair of Pickleball Analysis Committee.
- Spearheading and updating a program which honors veterans with rotating photos in the Clubhouse bar.
- ALC liaison (eight years).
- Liaison to HOA-1 Unit Rep Committee (eight years).
- Chair Employee Appreciation Committee
I know Roger best as the Treasurer of the SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary where he smiles as he passes the “Happy Dollar” contribution bag, reminding each of us that a $5 or $10 bill is no heavier for him to handle than a $1 bill. He keeps impeccable records of our donations, grants and disbursements as we work to improve the lives of those less fortunate in our community. When we begin our meeting with the four-way test of the things we say and do as a club, he raises his voice to add a fifth; “and is it fun”, a tribute to his friend and past charter member, Roger Bogard.
As an aside; he’s also one of my favorite people in SaddleBrooke. If you don’t know Roger Swett, make the effort to do so; you'll be rewarded by a smile that lights up the room.
A new Trader Joe's to open in midtown Tucson
