Roger Joseph Gessay

Roger Joseph Gessay, 81, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, passed away on Saturday, November 27, 2021, while recovering from surgery at a local rehab facility. Roger was born on January 19, 1940, in Rockville, Connecticut, to Joseph and Anna (Tansey) Gessay. He graduated from Rockville High School and went on to earn a Master's Degree from UConn (University of Connecticut). In July 1959, he married the former Barbara Kluczwski in Rockville. Roger retired from a successful career as an educator, guidance counselor and assistant principal in the Montgomery County, Maryland, school system. Among the schools he served in were Kennedy High School, Mark Twain, Julius West and Westland Middle Schools, Gaithersburg High School and Rockville (Maryland) High School. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing golf, reading, solving Sudoku puzzles, swimming in his backyard pool, vacationing with Barbara in Siesta Key, Florida, and spending time with his children and grandchildren. He taught industrial arts and leveraged his woodworking skills in numerous home improvement projects. Roger was the beloved husband of Barbara; loving father of Scott Gessay and his wife Mary of Greensboro, Georgia, Susan Gessay Keller and her husband Jeff of New Market, Maryland; cherished brother of Donald Gessay of Ellington, Connecticut; devoted grandfather of Ryan and his wife Jacquelyn of Ashburn, Virginia, and Shawn Gessay of Austin, Texas; and great grandfather of Charlie Jack. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Anna, and his sisters Elizabeth (Betty) Gessay, Joanne Gessay Kane, and Anna Gessay Skidgel. Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 2, 2021 from 5:00-7:00 pm in PUMPHREY FUNERAL HOME, 300 W. Montgomery Avenue, Rockville, MD and where a service will take place on Friday, December 3, 2021 at 1:00 pm. Gifts in Roger’s memory to SOME (So Others Might Eat), 71 O Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 or https://www.some.org would be appreciated.