Roger Naguit

AKA “Opa”, AKA “The Godfather”

September 9, 1937 - April 21, 2023

It is with heavy hearts that the family of Rogelio “Roger” San Jose Naguit, 85, of Kettering, OH and more recently, Rio Vista, CA passed on to the next life on Friday, April 21, 2023 at North Bay Medical Center in Fairfield, CA after an especially difficult struggle with multiple overlapping medical issues spanning the past few months. Born to Florentino G Naguit, Sr long time municipal secretary and Mercedes (San Jose) a school teacher in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. He is also the proud grandson of Colonel Juan M Naguit, hero of the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish in Mindoro. One of twelve total siblings, he attended elementary through junior high at St Joseph Academy in Bongabong. He finished his senior high school as Salutorian / Magna Cum Laude at Eastern Mindoro Academy. He went on to earn a Bachelor’s in Chemistry from The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. Upon graduation, he worked a while for Republic Glass. Then he went on further to earn the equivalent of a Master’s in Metallurgical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in Germany on a DAAD graduate fellowship sponsored by the German government. While in Germany, he met his wife Erlinda (Ragas) while she was working as a nurse through an exchange program at nearby Stolberg Hospital and they married in Newark, New Jersey. He then went on to work for Iligan Integrated Steel Mills back in the Philippines. His daughter, Maria Arabella was born there before the family eventually emigrated to the USA due to the political unrest at the time. He worked for D&H Manufacturing in Springfield, Ohio. His son Michael Jason was born in Dayton at Miami Valley Hospital - the very hospital where his wife, Linda, worked as a nurse - first in oncology and later in nephrology - for many years. He yet again furthered his education and earned a Master’s in Business Administration (Management) from The University of Dayton. He then went on to work for Superior Metal Products in Lima, Ohio which eventually came to be known as American Trim, LLC. He eventually rose to the position of Vice President of Corporate Technology wherein he developed many processes and products which helped propel the company’s growth from a family owned tool and die company to a major regional manufacturer that operated in multiple states and had partnerships with many distinguished companies including Alcoa, Whirlpool, and Harley Davidson. A parishioner of St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Kettering, Ohio, Roger was also very active in the Philippine American Society of Greater Dayton, serving in many leadership roles over the years. He was also active with his wife Linda in Reliv International - a network marketing company for state of the art nutritional products from St Louis, Missouri. Together they rose to the level of Bronze Ambassadors and won many awards for their work in opening up the company’s new international market in Malaysia. Roger is survived by his beloved fiancée, Maria Cielo Northington of Rio Vista, CA as well as his daughter, Arabella Callejo, DVM and her husband Eric Callejo, DDS, of Springboro, Ohio and his son Michael Jason Naguit, MD and his wife Mary Margarette Naguit, MD of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; his grandchildren, Keenan Callejo, Barrett Callejo, Olivia Naguit, and Sidney Naguit; siblings Armando “Mandong”, Jaime “Jim”, Raymond “Boy”, Erlinda “Linda”, Corazon “Cora”, Natividad “Naty”, and Marieta “Mayet.” He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Erlinda and a stillborn son, Jose Marie as well as siblings Eduardo “Eddie”, Rosauro “Ross”, Maria Elena “Ellen”, and Florentino “Jun” Jr, Roderico, Danilo, and beloved pet dogs - Taco, Spencer, and Polly. Among his proudest achievements was following through on his and his father’s dream of sponsoring immigrant visas for all 11 of his siblings so that they and their families could all have a chance at the American Dream. Visitation will be on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 from 4 to 8 pm at Tobias Funeral Home - Far Hills Chapel 5471 Far Hills Ave Dayton, OH 45429. Mass of Christian Burial is planned at St Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church 4500 Ackerman Boulevard Kettering OH 45429 on Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 1 pm followed by internment at Miami Valley Memory Gardens 1639 E Lytle Five Points Rd Dayton, OH 45458.

The family respectfully requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Reliv Kalogris Foundation at https://www.relivkalogrisfoundation.org 136 Chesterfield Industrial Blvd Chesterfield, MO 63005.