Roger Neal Staley, 73, died Sunday May 11, 2025 at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C. He was surrounded by his loving family and incredible caregivers.
Mr. Staley was born January 16, 1952 in Burlington, NC, son of the late Reverend Maurice E. Staley and Patsy Carter Staley.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Staley was preceded in death by his first wife, Jeanette Lucas Staley and stepdaughter, Morgan Patricia Hovis Gantt.
He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Martha DeRhodes Hovis Staley; daughter Lauren Staley Sailors of Hickory, his sons Adam Lucas Staley and wife Erin of Clearwater, FL and Jordan Thomas Staley of Los Angeles CA, stepson Richard Hovis and his wife Christina Hovis of Newton. Mr. Staley is also survived by his grandchildren Noah and Cooper Sailors; Grace (Hovis) and Wesley Hernandez, Rachel Hovis, and a sister Carol S. Stamper and her children of Concord, NC.
Mr. Staley is a graduate of Elon University, Northwestern University, and the University of North Carolina Charlotte. He was a public-school band director in Davie, Davidson, and Guilford counties and at Hickory High School from 1987 to 1994. He was also an assistant principal in Hickory Public Schools at Grandview Middle and Viewmont Elementary Schools. Mr. Staley served as choir director at Bethany Lutheran Church, Hickory, NC for twelve years.
Mr. Staley and his wife loved to travel and sail on their sailboat on Lake Norman.
Memorial services will be held at 2:30 pm at Concordia Lutheran Church in Conover, N.C. with the Reverend Michael Geml officiating.
The family will receive friends from 1:00 – 2:15 pm at the church.
Funeral arrangements are in the care of Catawba Memorial Park, Funerals and Creamations.
Condolences may be made online at www.catawbamemorialpark.com
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Concordia Lutheran Church at concordianc.org, or to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, at LLS.org/give.
