R.I.P. Roger P. Jahn: 1960-2012

(8/3/2012)

Roger P. Jahn, a popular and high profile expatriate Swiss restaurateur in Bali, died on Monday, July 30, 2012, after a brief illness.

Jahn was the proprietor of the Pepito Café in Tuban, South Kuta, where he presented a varied menu, including numerous Swiss specialties.

Born in Wallis, Switzerland on August 15, 1960, Roger Jahn was the eldest of three siblings. Together with his brothers, Walter and Pascal, he spent his childhood years in Appenzell and St. Gallen.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Jahn trained as a chef working apprenticeships in St. Moritz. His cooking career was interrupted for a decade while he answered a higher calling. Roger undertook training in a Swiss military school and obtained membership in the elite Swiss Guard – the group of well-trained professionals entrusted with the safety of the Pope and Vatican City for more than five hundred years. Jahn served as a Swiss Guard, protecting the reign of Pope John Paul II, from 1979 until 1989.

During periods of annual leave from the Vatican, Jahn repeatedly holidayed in Indonesia, starting in 1985. In May 1990, Jahn bid farewell to his constabulary role at the Vatican and moved to Bali where he met and married his wife, Kas, in May 2000.

A keen motorcyclist, Jahn had traveled widely in Indonesia and was often seen riding his bike on the streets of Bali.

According to reports, Jahn was rushed to a local hospital on July 25, 2012, suffering from an infection linked to an earlier motorcycle accident. He died five days later.

Roger Jahn’s remains were cremated in Bali on Thursday, August 2, 2012 at a service attended by more than 300 friends and colleagues. His ashes were later scattered into the Indian Ocean.