Roger Priest Fuller

Roger Priest Fuller passed away on April 5, 2024.  Roger was the son of Bradley and Marjorie (Colby) Fuller, born in Newburyport, MA on April 24, 1945, and was a lifelong Newburyport resident.

Roger lived a full life, with a fun-loving personality, and was a friend, mentor, and coach to many.  Roger was a lover of sports, and was an avid player of baseball, basketball, tennis, and golf.  He was a fixture on the local tennis scene for many years, captaining a highly competitive men’s doubles team at the Newburyport Racquet Club, and running the popular Yankee Homecoming Doubles Tournament in Newburyport.  Later in life, he developed a passion for golf, and was a longtime member at Ould Newbury Golf Club.  He was blessed with a great family and many great friendships.  He loved to travel, exploring much of New England on summer family camping trips, including annual camping trips to Cooperstown, NY, many travels with lifelong friends on all sorts of adventures, trips to Australia to visit his daughter’s family, and his cherished family trips to Walt Disney World.

Roger graduated from Newburyport High School in 1963, and took great pride in being the President of the Class of ’63. He played basketball and baseball for the Clippers, and enjoyed reminiscing about his basketball and baseball memories playing for the Clippers, at the YMCA, on the sandlot, and on local semipro baseball teams on which he played in the years after high school.  He met his future wife, Judith (Page) Fuller at Newburyport High School, and they were married for 54 years.  He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  After college, Roger went on to teach in the Methuen High School Science Department for 34 years.  In his early years of teaching, his summer job was running the Newburyport Playground System, and he enjoyed serving many of the future student athlete leaders of Newburyport.  While teaching at Methuen, he took up coaching Cross-Country, Indoor Track & Field, and Spring Track & Field.  He had a legendary 46-year coaching career for Methuen High School, and was a positive influence and mentor for many Ranger student athletes.  He felt very fortunate to coach many great people, runners, and teams, and was proud of the success, tradition and fraternity of the Methuen track programs.  He was inducted into the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013, and was recognized with numerous awards including the National Federation of State High School Coaches Association indoor track Northeast Coach of the Year in 2017.  

Roger is survived by his daughter Gretchen Yates, son-in-law David, and their children Bruce and Katelyn of Perth, Australia; his son Nathan Fuller, daughter-in-law Robyn, and their children Wilson, Isabella, Olivia, and Wren of Arlington, MA; his sister Barbara Page of Newbury, MA; and his brother Bradley Fuller and wife Joanne of Reading, MA.  Roger was predeceased by his wife, Judith (Page) Fuller, and his sisters Margaret Taranda of Newburyport, and Lois Aragaki of Pearl City, Hawaii.

In lieu of a service, a Celebration of Life will be held at The Newburyport Elks Club on Friday, May 31, 2024 from 12:00 to 5:00 PM. The Twomey, LeBlanc, & Conte Funeral Home 193 High St. Newburyport, MA 01950 is assisting Mr. Fuller’s family with his arrangements.

Donations can be made in Roger’s memory to The Roger Fuller Track Scholarship (contact rogerfullertrackscholarship@gmail.com), which was established at Methuen High School in 2022. 

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