Dr. Jack D. Rogers, 83, Washington State University Regents Professor Emeritus, died peacefully at his home in Pullman Monday, June 14, 2021, after a long illness.
Jack was a nationally and internationally renowned mycologist, dedicated and inspirational educator, avid hunter and fly fisherman, a wonderful humorist, and most of all a dedicated husband to his wife, Belle, and father to his twin daughters, Rebecca Ann (Hines) and Barbara Lee (Cooper). He will be sorely missed by his family and international network of colleagues, friends and former students.
Jack was born Sept. 3, 1937, to Jack Rogers (Youkobis Uzskuriatis) and Thelma Rogers (née Coon), both school teachers in Point Pleasant, W.Va. After graduating from Point Pleasant High School in 1955, Jack attended Davis and Elkins College (West Virginia), and in a five-year cooperative program with Duke University (North Carolina) earned a Bachelor of Science from Davis and Elkins and a Master of Science in forest management from Duke. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1963.
At the start of his junior year at Davis and Elkins, Jack met fellow student Belle Clay Spencer, daughter of University of Virginia chemistry professor Dr. Hugh M. Spencer and Thomasia Spencer (née Hancock). They married in June 1958 at Belle’s family home in Charlottesville, Va., and began a 63-year-long devoted marriage. They were blessed with twin daughters Rebecca and Barbara in June 1964.
In 1963, Jack joined the faculty of Washington State University’s College of Agriculture, beginning an educational career in the Plant Pathology and Forestry Departments which spanned half a century. He taught forest tree pathology and advanced mycology, and served as a major professor and adviser for graduate and post-graduate students. He rapidly rose through the ranks to become a full professor, and served as the chairman of the Department of Plant Pathology from 1985 until 1999. An international authority on Xylariaceous fungi, he authored and co-authored more than 230 scientific papers and two mycological books.
Jack traveled the world on mycological research and specimen collecting trips, but far and away his first priority and passion was teaching his students. His many awards for educational and scientific excellence included the R.M. Wade Award for Instruction (1967); serving as president of the Mycological Society of America (1978); the Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Research, Scholarship, and Arts (1986); and the Mycological Society of America Weston Award for Teaching Excellence (1992). In 2004, he was honored with the Mycological Society of America’s Distinguished Mycologist Award. Additionally, he received the Library Excellence Award for Service to WSU Libraries in 2005. Jack received the WSU Eminent Faculty Award in 2006, and was promoted to regents professor in 2007. He was the subject of a book of tributes from colleagues edited by former student and retired WSU professor Dr. Dean A. Glawe.
In addition to Jack’s professional accomplishments, he was also an enthusiastic outdoorsman, a friend to many and a legendary humorist. He particularly enjoyed hunting pheasant and quail on the breaks of the Snake River, and fly fishing in rivers and lakes across the Pacific Northwest. Jack was a regular at his two coffee groups, as well as the Pullman Presbyterian Church’s Men’s Bible Study, and enjoyed visiting with his many colleagues and friends. Jack loved a good joke or humorous story, and had the rare ability to remember and re-tell every entertaining anecdote he ever heard. Whenever he said “that reminds me of a story ...” indicated that whomever he was with would soon be laughing until their sides ached.
Jack is survived by Belle, his loving wife and constant companion of 63 years, and his daughters and their families: Becky and husband Warren, of Papillion, Neb., with twin grandsons Ethan and Gareth; and Barbie and husband Brad, of Martinez, Calif. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Ann Mansour, and husband George, of Lansing, Mich.; his sister, Nancy Sanders, and husband Larry, of Williamsport, Pa; and many nieces and nephews.
Per Jack’s wishes, the family requests memorials be given to the Pullman Fire Department or the Salvation Army.
A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Pullman City Cemetery. Kimball Funeral Home of Pullman has been entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to kimballfh.com.
