Roger Michael Gignac

Roger Michael Gignac, known to family and friends as Rambo, died on October 13, 2026, at the age of 78. He was a Vietnam War veteran and a longtime Ford Motor Company employee from Flat Rock, Michigan, remembered chiefly by his community and family rather than as a figure of national public life.

During the Vietnam War, Gignac served his country and was decorated for his combat service, earning four Purple Hearts and three Silver Stars, a record that reflects repeated wounds in action and repeated recognition for gallantry. After returning from military service, he built a long civilian career, spending 36 years working for Ford Motor Company before retiring in 2002. That span placed him among generations of Michigan workers whose lives were tied to the American automobile industry through the second half of the twentieth century.

Away from his service and his job, those who knew him described a man of simple, steady pleasures. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, playing video games, cooking, gardening, and a good cup of coffee, interests that formed the texture of daily life for family and friends who shared them with him over the decades.

Gignac's family life was marked by both long devotion and earlier loss. He was married to his wife, Della, for 55 years before her death in 2019. His eldest son, Gary, died in 2020, and both of Gignac's parents predeceased him as well. He is survived by his children, Angeline (married to John) Gignac, Michael (married to Melissa) Gignac, and Trisha (married to Jacob) Barron, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Gignac died on October 13, 2026, in the Flat Rock, Michigan area at age 78. No cause of death has been made public. His passing was announced through an obituary published by Bobcean Funeral Home of Flat Rock. In keeping with his wishes, he was cremated, and no public funeral or memorial service is planned.

As a private citizen rather than a public figure, there has been no wider media coverage or public reaction beyond the obituary and condolences from family and the local community. What is documented about his life comes from that obituary: his military honors, his long Ford career, his family, and the quiet pastimes that filled his later years.