Roger Frederick Elling, 73, of Virginia Beach peacefully passed away on August 7, 2021, after a long illness. He was surrounded by his family and the love of his life, Sandy. Roger was born on August 27, 1947, to the late Milton Frederick and Katherine Forehand Elling. In his early years he was a Virginia State Trooper. After years of retail sales, he continued working and retired from the Navy Exchange as an Operations Manager.

He was a proud graduate of the 1965 class of Norview High School. Roger loved baseball, especially the Norfolk Tides and the Washington Nationals. He enjoyed going to the Nationals’ games in Washington, DC. And California. Roger also loved fishing, traveling and Doumars BBQ. He especially loved going to Shag dance weekends up and down the east coast. Roger was the former President of The Virginia Beach Shag Club and was also a member of the Virginia Shaggers Hall of Fame. Roger and Sandy loved to Shag dance, and it was their love of dancing that brought them together. On Friday nights, they could always be seen at Dockside, one of their favorite hangouts.

Roger is survived by his devoted companion of 30 years, Sandy Jones. He is also survived by his daughter, Tina Heap, (Phil) of San Marcos, CA; his son, Bart of Virginia Beach, VA; his sister, Mindy Elling Ziegenfuss (Frank) of Chesapeake, VA; his brother, Randy Ellling (Betsy) of Norfolk, VA, and the loves of his life, his two grandsons, Colton Heap of San Marcos, CA and Oscar Elling of Virginia Beach, VA. Roger also had a special bond with Sandy’s family. Her daughters Sherry Gee (Kenneth) of Richmond, VA; Stacey Belue (Russell) of Moyock, NC; and Shannon Drake (Steve), Austin, TX. He also enjoyed spending time with Sandy’s grandchildren, Michael, Meredith, Noah, Rachel, Aidan, Will and Owen. Roger was Godfather to Heather Propst of Atlanta, GA. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, and he had many friends.

Roger’s request was to be cremated and a celebration of his life will be held at a later date.