Roger Clark Greenhalgh

He was born and raised in Oneida, New York, to parents Irene Clark and Roger Greenhalgh. He enlisted in the Army while still in High School and was called to duty in October 1943. After a dangerous journey to Normandy, he was assigned to the 60th Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division in Belgium and then to Patton’s Third Army in the Battle of the Bulge. After serving on the front lines of WWII he was discharged in 1946, receiving the Combat Infantry Badge, Purple Heart, and battle stars for the Ardennes and Rhineland. Roger married Shirley Jean DeFrees of Oneida and then attended Union College on a scholarship, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

After graduating he started a 40-year career with IBM where he developed the header concept for data packets and was awarded a US patent for this innovation. He held positions in the Applied Sciences Department where one of his accounts was the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the precursor to NASA, and then at the newly formed Special Engineering Products Division, working on diverse computer applications at companies nationwide. In 1976, Roger took a position at the Systems Product Division in Research Triangle Park, NC. During his tenure at RTP, he was often a liaison to NCSU and Duke University for joint projects with IBM. After retirement in 1989, Roger and Shirley eventually moved to Glenaire Retirement Community in Cary, NC. Of his many accomplishments, he was most proud of the six children he and Shirley raised and of his 70-year marriage. Roger was a man of great practicality and common sense with a reserved sense of humor and the ability to convey complex ideas in understandable terms. He was kind and supportive and will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Roger is survived by his son Roger (Jim) Greenhalgh and wife Carla of CO, his daughter Kitty Muttick of NJ, his daughter Anne Triulzi and her husband Paul of NC, his son Paul Greenhalgh and wife Trish of CT, his son Mark Greenhalgh of NC and his son John Greenhalgh of FL.; nine grandchildren: Ben Samuel and wife Dana, Erin Ferencik, Jackie Muttick, Eric Muttick and wife Kate, Lauren Swayner and husband Matt, Patrick Greenhalgh and wife Holly, John Greenhalgh, Katelynn Greenhalgh and step granddaughter Christina Parsons and husband Carl as well as eight great-grandchildren: Jeremy Samuel, Caleb Ferencik, Addisyn Samuel, Henry Muttick, Rhys Muttick, Cora Swayner, Roger (Reggie) Greenhalgh and Josie Greenhalgh and four step great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his grandson Thomas Greenhalgh.

A funeral service will be held at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 SE Maynard Road, Cary, NC on Friday, July 8th at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Roger’s name to Transitions LifeCare, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607 (transitionslifecare.org).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BrownWynneCary.com for the Greenhalgh family.