Roger Youderian, 1924-1956

Roger Youderian was born on January 21, 1924, in Sumatra, Montana. He contracted polio as a child and lived with its effects throughout his life, though he recovered enough to play basketball in high school. From 1941 to 1943, Roger attended Montana State University, before leaving to serve as an Army paratrooper in World War II, participating in the Battle of the Bulge. During the autumn of 1944, he became a Christian and simultaneously committed his life to missionary service. After the war, Roger trained for missions at Northwestern Schools in Minneapolis from 1946 to 1949, where he also met his future wife, Barbara Orton. They married in September 1951 and later had two children, Beth Elaine and Jerry Lee.

During his military service, Roger worked as a chaplain’s assistant. After leaving service, he applied his skills in Christian outreach and language development to his new work with the Gospel Missionary Union. Posted to Macuma in the Oriente region of Ecuador in 1953, Roger ministered to the Shuar people, creating visual teaching materials to introduce written language. He also attempted to begin ministry and medical outreach efforts among the neighboring Atshuaras (Achuar). By 1955, Roger was struggling with deep discouragement over his missionary efforts when he was invited by Nate Saint to join a group of missionaries planning an effort to contact the unreached Waorani. His deep sense of calling and dedication to missionary work ultimately led him to join the team on Palm Beach in January 1956. He was killed by a group of Waorani warriors, along with the four other men, on January 8, 1956.