Roger L. Oberlin
Roger L. Oberlin, 91, of Grove City passed away on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at Quality Life Services in Grove City following a brief illness.
Roger was born July 13, 1928, in Hillsdale, Mich., to Hurley V. and Rose (Dow) Oberlin.
He married Mary Flannery on Sept. 4, 1948.
A graduate of Hillsdale College in Michigan, in 1950, Roger was one of the athletes who truly defined “winning” and one of a few athletes in school history to be part of three team sports that won conference championships. He was the quarterback on the 1949 football team that went undefeated, and was a three-time batting champion for the baseball team. He was inducted into the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame, Class of 2000.
He later played in the Cleveland Indians minor league system. After his playing days, he went on to coach football and baseball at Bucknell University for 11 years.
His career took him to Slippery Rock University, where he taught physical education and coached football (1967-1988). The football team won four straight Pennsylvania State Championships during this period of time.
Coach O was an educator, a mentor, and proud of his players and students. He retired from Slippery Rock University, Professor Emeritus in 1996. His love of Slippery Rock University and the game of football resulted in his continued attendance at home games, until he became ill.
Survivors include his wife, Mary, at home; two sons, Charles Oberlin and his wife, Kathy, of Slippery Rock, and Mark Oberlin of Ocean City, Md.; two grandchildren, Neil Oberlin and his wife, Amber, of El Paso, Texas, and Gwen Burg of Twinsburg, Ohio; and three great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by four brothers, Hurley Jr., James, Fred and Dale Oberlin.
OBERLIN — A public memorial service for Roger L. Oberlin, who died Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, with be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 28, 2020, in Cunningham Funeral Home, 306 Bessemer Ave., Grove City.Memorial contributions may be made to support the football program at Slippery Rock University, SRU Foundation, 104 Maltby Ave., Slippery Rock, PA 16057.Please visit www.cunninghamfhgc.com.
