Roger Appell, 86, MIT Graduate, Army Reservist, & Mason

[broadstreet zone=”63788″]

[broadstreet zone=”66384″]

FRAMINGHAM – Roger Appell, 86, beloved husband, father, uncle and friend, passed away unexpectedly on September 18, 2022 in Framingham.

Roger was born January 7, 1936 in Malden,. He attended Melrose Public Schools and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT, class of ’57. Roger joined ROTC in 1953 when he entered MIT.

Upon graduation, he started working for GE Sylvania on the Moby Dic project. The design had been frozen using discreet components and resulted in Moby Dic A and B on which he was a design engineer. His military service furthered from 1958 to 1966. He was assigned to Fort Monmouth and was put into the doctrine division for Moby Dic, the first militarized transportable computer.

He served six months active duty and the next 7 ½ years as an active reservist in the army signal corps. He retired as a first lieutenant. He worked in computer sales at Sun Microsystems, Apollo, Perkin Elmer and several other companies.

Roger was very involved in Masonry for over 50 years. He served as Master of Garden City Lodge in Newton and Perfection Lodge in Framingham. He was a member of Alpha Lodge in Framingham. Roger served as High Priest of St. Andrew’s Royal Arch Chapter in Boston and was active in the Scottish Rite Lodge of Perfection in the Valley of Boston. He was a member and photographer of Aleppo Temple Shriners.

He loved photography, discussing current events and books and spending time with family and friends. He was actively involved with the The Callahan Senior Center in Framingham and served on the board of The Friends of Callahan.

Roger is survived by his wife Sheila Watnick of more than 34 years; his children Seth Appell and Marcy Fortnow (and her husband Lance); his grandchildren Annie and Nico Fortnow and Shayna Redwine; and his former wife Diana Kassler. He also leaves his sister-in-law and brother-in-law Sylvia and Terry Zima; their children Adam, Hana, Elyse and Lisa; and seven grandnieces and grandnephews.

The funeral will be Wednesday, September 21, at 10 a.m. at Congregation Beth El, 105 Hudson Road, Sudbury.

Burial will take place at Sharon Memorial Park. Shiva is at Roger and Sheila’s residence on Wednesday following the burial and from 7 to 9 p.m.; Thursday, 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. and Friday, 2-4 p.m.

Donations in Roger’s memory may be made to the Shriners Children’s Hospital, 51 Blossom Street, Boston, MA 02114.

[broadstreet zone=”66385″]