Music Room Named In Honor Of Late Arbor Park Band Director Who Was Students' 'Biggest Fan'

OAK FOREST, IL — More than a decade after his retirement from Arbor Park Middle School—and just a year after his death—beloved band director Roger Kellogg's name forever became a part of the school and music program.

Staff and school families last month honored Kellogg by dedicating the music room in his name, a nod to his effervescent spirit, passion for his career and lasting legacy at the school.

Kellogg began his first—and ultimately only—teaching job out of college at Arbor Park in 1977 and retired there in 2011. He died in May 2025, at 69 years old.

The band room was dedicated, and tribute was paid to Kellogg at a band and choir concert—a fitting way to honor him, his wife Cheryl told Patch. The choir even performed "The Time of My Life," which had been the theme of his retirement concert in 2011.

"He absolutely loved those kids," Kellogg told Patch. "We still call 'em kids, even though they’re 50 years old. That was the perfect job for him—he loved not just teaching them, but being their friend and mentor."

Kellogg said her husband's role in students' lives inspired many to pursue the profession themselves.

"He influenced a lot of kids to be teachers because they could see the difference they could make," she said. "He was so generous with his time. He was very patriotic—started every concert with a patriotic song.

"He was very caring and genuine, he was very generous, and a very strong faith in God. He just loved the kids and he cared about them—what more could you ask from a teacher?"

Arbor Park Principal At Large and District Safety Coordinator Scott Pierce worked with Kellogg when Pierce was assistant principal. The two were friends for more than 20 years.

"He was one of the first people I met (at the school), actually," Pierce told Patch.

Pierce recalled Kellogg's outgoing, warm nature and way of connecting with the kids.

"Relationships, without a doubt," Pierce said of what made Kellogg a special and powerful presence at the school. "Whether it was with faculty, the kids, parents. ... There's not a kid that didn't like him."

The two stayed in touch after Kellogg's retirement, with Pierce visiting him at the family's campground in Wisconsin, which he frequented in his downtime.

"He loved to fish and boat," Cheryl said. "He also just loved to talk to people. Roger talked to people way more than I ever did. That was just his nature."

At his last concert in 2011, Kellogg had lifted his baton and led Arbor Park students one final time for a crowd of hundreds. At times, he picked up his trumpet and multitasked, playing the brass with one hand and tickling the ivory keys of his keyboard with the other. At the end of each of the last four songs, students stood clapping and calling his name. Some alumni call him an inspiration, while others say he taught them to live with passion and "set the world on fire."

"It's nice to feel loved," Kellogg said after that concert. He would have felt the love last month, too, as a packed crowd gathered for the spring concert.

Kellogg taught "not only music, but integrity, responsibility," Cheryl said.

The couple never had children, but his students became like his own.

"He had kids all those years," Pierce said. "Those were his kids. And I just loved how he interacted with the kids."

"He just wanted to do what’s right for those kids," Cheryl said. "He would always try to intervene and make their day better. He was very caring and genuine, and they picked up on that."

For each of the spring concerts he led, he created a theme and a corresponding T-shirt for the students—shirts that were sewn together into a blanket or made into a decorative pillow. The items were on display in the gym following the concert. On the stage sat his baby grand piano that Cheryl donated to the school. She also plans to donate other instruments of his in the fall, Pierce said.

"I think that will be a good way to remember him with the program," he said.



After his retirement, Kellogg suffered a multitude of health issues, including contracting COVID-19 twice, beating melanoma, and fighting sepsis and MRSA. He ultimately suffered a heart attack, his wife said.

But before he first fell ill, they made the most of his free time, with trips including a tour of Route 66 and visits to Missouri and Tennessee.

"A lot of music stuff," Cheryl said, laughing.

"We were going to go to Alaska, and then COVID hit. We never got to do that."

Throughout it all, though, Kellogg's optimism buoyed the two.

"He never stopped smiling," Cheryl said.

Longtime friend Marty Donato attended the concert and stopped by the band room to see the new banner. Donato first met Kellogg in the second grade at St. Christopher School in Midlothian and they later attended Bremen High School together. Kellogg learned piano in grade school, while Donato learned the guitar. Kellogg persuaded Donato to play trombone in the high school band, and the two played all four years.

After college, they reconnected musically in a four-piece band (but two of each instrument) with Donato playing the trombone and guitar. In one year, they played 86 gigs, Donato said. He remembers his friend fondly.

"It was just infectious," he said, of Kellogg's personality. "He was your biggest fan. If you were down, he'd never let you stay there too long. He'd always pick you up. Fantastic sense of humor. I'll never forget him."

Pierce finished his last year with the school and said it was important to him to honor his friend and colleague.

"... What a way to go out, honoring him," Pierce said. "And that's what I wanted to do. I approached our superintendent about it last year, and she said, 'Yes, let's make it happen.'"

"Everybody's getting to retirement age. But we wanted to make sure we could remember him somehow."

Cheryl said it was a perfect way for his former students to say a final goodbye.

"The good thing about this ceremony," she said, "is it’s a good way for those guys to get some closure."

All he had wanted was to have an impact on those around him, she said.

"The biggest honor in his life," she said. "This is his legacy he wanted to leave in the world: affect people’s lives and help them in a positive way."

The ceremony was healing for her, too.

"I miss him every day, even now," she said, "even though I’m learning to cope without him.

"I’m trying to make the best I can out of it."

Watch the concert below.