Ute Roden

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UTE LANGEL RODEN
Dec.18,1942- Sept. 13, 2024

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Ute Langel Roden of Robinson, TX passed away Friday, September 13, 2024. She was born in Mannheim, Germany in 1942, to Arthur Langel and Waltraud Rofleisch Langel.

Ute spent her childhood in Mannheim and met her future husband, Charles Roden, while he was serving in Germany with the United States Army. After Charles finished his term in the US Army, Charles and Ute were married on November 28,1959 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ute and Charles moved to Waco where she was a homemaker and mother to her two daughters. In 1966 she began working at the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company until she retired in 2005. She was affectionately known by many in the Waco area as the “Dr. Pepper Lady”.

Ute and Charles had two daughters, Rike Roden Haj and Audrey Roden Lyons.

Ute was active in the community which included a local German Ladies Club. She volunteered at the Women and Children’s Advocacy Center and was a member of Central United Methodist Church.

Ute was preceded in death by her parents and her late husband.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Rike and Jamal Haj of Houston, Texas and their children, granddaughter, Julia and grandson, Adam; daughter and son-in-law, Audrey and Darrell Lyons, Jr. of Robinson, Texas; a sister, Rike Langel of Belgium; a brother, Ingo Langel of Portugal; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Ute had a passion for animals especially her 15-year-old Charlie Dog.

Services will be held 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, at OakCrest Funeral Home with burial to follow at Waco Memorial Park, Rev. Bob Rainey will officiate. Visitation with the family will be from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Thursday prior to the service.

Serving as pallbearers will be Jamal Haj, Darrell Lyons, Jr., Trey Roden, Dave Chambers, Julia and Adam Haj.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Ute’s name may be made to The Juvenile Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society.

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