The obituary notice of Roger HOPKINS BURKE

In memory of our dear friend Roger, who loved animals but particularly he's own two beautiful cats.

I knew Roger for 9 years, started off as his cleaner, but he became a very close friend, I always say going to Rogers house was like going to see my Dad, he was quite moved I saw him this way. We always cheered each other up on the winter months as Roger didn't like the dark cold nights. In time even Hendrix and Miles warmed to me. I will miss Roger with all my heart and his never ending stories. He wasn't just a legend but a hero too. Sleep tight Roger .x

Sarah and I knew Roger for nearly 30 years as Kristan's husband and Thomas' and Oliver's father. We'd usually meet up once or twice a year for a few days and Roger would always be a tour de force, with a dry sense of humour and some opinionated but well thought-through views. We enjoyed long debates at the kitchen table or in the pub and listening to Roger's stories of work or just observing the world. He was very proud of his family's academic success, both Kristan as an academic and Thomas and Oliver progressing through school and higher education. It was nice to see that Roger has everyone close at hand in the last year or so.

We're glad we got to see Roger again just in October and will remember him very fondly. Sarah and Peter

I haven’t seen Roger in years but my memories are having such great long discussions. He had a brilliant mind so they always left a lasting impression on me. My thoughts are with you Kristan and your sons, Lucy E.

Dear Kristan, Thomas and Oliver, I’m so sorry for your loss.
I knew Roger from the late 1980s when we were both PhD students and then we became colleagues at NTU in the early 1990s.
Roger was always an interesting colleague, respected and admired by staff and students (for whom he was ‘a ledge!’).
He was so proud of his family and loved you very much.
Terry x

For me, I will remember Roger for his warm and welcoming nature and the ease with which he was able to lighten the environment with humor—something to be truly treasured, especially in academia, where a serious and sometimes less-than-welcoming environment is easily encountered. My deepest condolences to the family.

Condolences to Kristan and the family. Matt Long.

Roger not only brought 'fun' to those around him at Nottingham Trent University- he positively created 'joy' for those privileged enough to be around him.

To reduce him to the master status of 'academic' would be a disservice. Forget the dryness of the transactionally driven powerpoint slides, we were blessed with a teacher imbued with the transformational charisma of the 'story teller' who could not only captivate an audience but get them to eat out of the same proverbial palm which also waved a beloved West Ham United scarf on match days.

I worked at Nottingham Trent University until 2022 but my career there effectively ended on the day he retired. The plug had been pulled and the fun evaporated like water down the drain of an empty bathtub leaving me shivering in the cold without the comfort blanket which his good counsel had always wrapped around me.

We shared the same sense of humour and he was delighted when I won an Innovation in Teaching Award at my current place of employment for the use of humour in teaching. In a middle class and formally bureaucratised environment, he taught me to swim against the tide with the invaluable life lesson of taking what I did seriously whilst not taking myself too seriously.

His spirit lives on not only in his books but more importantly in the playful and paratelic disposition which I and others he has influenced bring to our teaching and wider work- something which a current generation of late teens and early 20s are enjoying just down the road from where he worked.

The greatest tribute I can pay the man is to say that ten minutes or so after entering his office, I ALWAYS departed his company feeling better about myself and the world than when I had previously knocked on his door.

Love you Roger.

Matt Long