Feb. 24, 1937 – April 25, 2025
Rev. Rodger Raland Venzke, 88, was called to glory on April 25, 2025, just weeks after relocating from St. Louis, Mo., to Phoenix, Ariz. He had been living with Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
Born Feb. 24, 1937, on a farm near Marshfield, Wis., Venzke moved with his family in early childhood to Shelton, Wash., where his father worked as a carpenter. After completing a pre-ministerial program at Concordia High School and Junior College in Portland, Ore., he entered Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in 1956. He married Patricia Lierman, a former classmate from Concordia High School, in 1959 during his vicarage year.
Ordained in 1961, he began his pastoral ministry serving two rural congregations in northern Minnesota. In 1963, he accepted a call to serve as a U.S. Army chaplain, beginning a nearly 30-year military career. His service included a combat tour in Vietnam, chaplaincy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and two tours in Europe. He later served as executive officer to the Army Chief of Chaplains and as command chaplain for the Military District of Washington. Venzke also taught at the Army Chaplain School in Columbia, S.C., and authored the fifth volume of the Army Chaplain Corps’ history, Confidence in Battle, Inspiration in Peace. His military honors include the Legion of Merit, and following his retirement, he was awarded the St. Martin of Tours medal for "exceptional meritorious service" as a military chaplain.
In 1990, he retired from the Army and accepted a call to plant King of Glory Lutheran Church in Williamsburg, Va. Six years later, he was appointed director of ministry to the Armed Forces for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), a role he served in until 2004.
Venzke was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Patricia, and will be laid to rest beside her in St. Louis. He is survived by his three children Kimberly McMillan (Allen Ohlstein), Lori (Bradley) Schleier, and Matthew (Michelle) Venzke. He is also survived by four grandchildren Benjamin McMillan (Sean Fraga), Samuel Schleier (Annie Mellot), Luke Schleier, and Alexandra McMillan (Ryan McGill), as well as two great-granddaughters, Marigold and Matilda.
A visitation and memorial service will be held:
Monday, June 2, 2025
Visitation: 9 a.m. | Service: 10 a.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church – Soulard
812 Soulard St.,
St. Louis, MO 63104
A private interment will follow that afternoon at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, memorial donations may be directed to:
Trinity Lutheran Church, Soulard or the American Parkinson Disease Association.