Roger Birdwell was born on March 23, 1895, in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1917 with a degree in engineering. He was drafted to serve as a private in the army during World War I and was discharged as a First Lieutenant.

He married Ruth Mary Hudson on April 3, 1926, in Washington, D.C. During World War II, he served on allocation panels for rationing.

Mr. Birdsell served for nine years as executive director of the Stateline United Givers Fund. He took on that position shortly after his retirement from Yates-American Machine Company in 1962. A graduate engineer, he served Yates since 1934 when he came to Beloit to start a Head Transfer Products Division. He became a vice-president in 1948 and a director in 1952. He had previously been employed by McQuay-Perfex Corp. of Milwaukee. He served seven years as executive vice-president.

Following his retirement from Yates, he was retained in a consulting capacity and was asked to oversee plans of E.J. Dalton, owner and active head of Yates, to build a Boy’s Club. In September 1960, the new club was dedicated, the dedication speaker being Vice President Richard M. Nixon. The Dalton Foundation had built a Little League Baseball Park earlier.

Besides being an organizer for the Beloit Boy’s Club, Mr. Birdsell was the first president and served on its Board of Directors and other committees. In 1965, he served as central area council chairman in the national organization. He received the national Boy’s Club Silver Keystone Award in 1966 for outstanding service. He served as president of the Beloit Little League Baseball Association.

For a time he was a trustee and deacon for the First Congregational Church. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Red Cross. Mr. Birdsell was a member of the committee that first obtained airline service for the Rock County Airport and was also a member of the group which obtained natural gas for Beloit. He was recognized by Gov. Warren Knowles in 1965 for his work with the physically handicapped.

During the 1970s, Mr. Birdsell devoted considerable volunteer time to assisting with economic development through the Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation. He had been a member of the Beloit Country Club, Rotary Club, Elks Club, and the American Legion. He was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers since 1923 and was a director of the American Home Mutual Life Insurance Company in Washington, D.C.

He died on August 10, 1983, at Cedar Crest Retirement Home, Janesville. Funeral services were held at the First Congregational Church in Beloit with Dr. Dwayne Summers officiating. Burial was in Eastlawn Cemetery. His wife, Mary Hudson Birdsell, died on February 6, 1976.