Roger Dennis Erb

     Roger Dennis Erb, 77, passed away Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise following a brief illness, complicated by dementia. He was surrounded by his family when he passed.

     Roger, or Dennis to his friends and family, was born to Roger and Doris Erb, June 8, 1947, in Twin Falls, Idaho. He spent his early childhood in Buhl, playing with the many Erb cousins in the area. His family, including his younger sister Julie, moved to Nampa in 1959.

     When Dennis was 13, his family started making regular camping and fishing trips to Cascade, Idaho. His dad later bought a trailer and some land near the golf course that became a staple on his outdoor adventures. As he got older, he was able to share this special place with his own family.

     In Nampa, he attended West Junior High and graduated from Nampa High in 1965. He made lifelong friends in Nampa, many of whom he kept in touch with over the years and still met regularly to catch up over lunch or dinner.

     After high school, he ventured north to the University of Idaho. However, his time as a Vandal was short, only one year, before he transferred to Boise State University where he developed a lifelong love of BSU football.  In college, he met his future wife Joy after being set up on a blind date by his cousin. Despite the fact that Joy “didn’t want to be set up with her friend’s cousin,” the two hit it off and dated for several years before getting married the same weekend they graduated from college in Boise on May 26, 1972.

     Dennis graduated with an accounting degree and worked at a bank for six long weeks, before quitting and going back to his beloved wildland fire fighting, a job he had done over the summers throughout college. Dennis worked as a wildland firefighter for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), fighting fires throughout the west and Alaska. His career swiftly moved into management, and he worked at the Boise Interagency Fire Center for several years while still responding to fires with crews during the summer and fall.

     In the mid-70's, Dennis and Joy welcomed their first child, Megan, and then three years later, Lindsay was born.

     In 1979, Dennis, who went by his first name, Roger, for work, moved the family to Tucson, Arizona, when he took a job transfer with the BLM as the Assistant Director for the National Advanced Resource Technology Center. The family loved living in Tucson as the girls took swimming lessons in their backyard pool, and he and Joy developed a passion for patio happy hours, chips, salsa, and margaritas. The family also took several trips to Mexico and enjoyed many Idaho visitors who had no second thoughts about jumping into the backyard pool at the cool temperature of 70 while his family was inside wearing sweatshirts.

     In 1984, Dennis took a job in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the BLM Director of Fire for the State of Utah. Dennis loved spending free time fishing and camping in the mountains around Salt Lake City. His passion for fishing, camping, and the outdoors was cemented in his girls as they enjoyed fishing in his boat. Being closer to Idaho, the family also made many road trips back to Boise and Ketchum to visit friends and family.

     In 1988, Dennis took a job in Washington D. C. as the National Fire Manager for the BLM. The family moved across the country and lived in Manassas, Virginia, for several years. They took advantage of life on the East Coast and visited the Smithsonian Museums, saw a presidential inauguration in person, traveled throughout the east and up and down the coastline. Dennis even made a few cross-country drives with all his fishing gear so he could join his buddies for their annual fishing and camping trips in Idaho.

     In 1991, all east coast fire management leaders were transferred back to the Boise Fire Center, which was renamed the National Interagency Fire Center. Dennis was now the Fire Director for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and happy to be back in Boise, where he first started his fire career.

     Dennis spent his free time fishing and camping with his long-time fishing buddies and they enjoyed traveling to Whitebird, the Clearwater, and Lower Salmon to fish and camp. They even took a trip to Canada for a guided trip one fishing season. He was a member in good standing of the Poachers Club, joining in 1991 as member number 229.

     When not fishing, he could be found in his beloved garage shop. He was a talented woodworker who started building in shop class at Nampa High. Over the years, he’s built numerous T.V. cabinets, tables, bookcases, toy boxes and a set of matching bed frames complete with lots of little drawers for his girls.

     Dennis retired January 2002 as Fire Director for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Over his career, he spent 12 years with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and 26 years with the BLM. Despite being officially retired, he continued working as a contractor for several summers supporting fire crews as needed. But this time, he got to pick and choose the work and went fishing and camping as he wanted, too.

     While he loved traveling throughout the west fishing and camping, Dennis and Joy took an international trip to Ireland. There they traveled by a guided bus tour, so neither had to drive, and enjoyed staying in small towns, seeing different sites, and of course, the beer.

     In retirement, Dennis enjoyed lunches with his Nampa High buddies, fishing trips whenever he wanted to go, and spending time with his grandkids, visiting his granddaughters in Seattle, and watching his grandson play flag football on Friday nights.

     Dennis is survived by his wife of 52 years Joy C. Erb (Peirce), his daughter Megan Erb, her husband Matt Ohmstede, and youngest daughter Lindsay Erb. He is survived by his grandchildren Ruby, Hazel, and Ridley. He is also survived by his sister Julie Erb and numerous Erb and LaMott cousins.

     A celebration of Roger Dennis’s life will be held 1-3 p.m., Saturday, June 14, 2025, at the Stonehouse, 665 E Park Blvd, Boise, ID 83712. Doors open at 1, program starts at 1:30. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his name to either the Boise Rescue Mission or The Idaho Food Bank.