T. Edwin "Ed" Rogers 1917-2009

Thomas Edwin (“Ed”) Rogers, biology professor emeritus, died Saturday, January 3, 2009, in Iowa City. He was 91.

To share comments and memories of T. Edwin “Ed” Rogers, visit his remembrance page.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date.

Ed Rogers was born March 19, 1917, in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, the son of Glenn H. and Martha (Conrad) Rogers. He graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1935 and from Cornell College in 1939. He continued his studies as a graduate assistant in Zoology at the University of Oklahoma, receiving his M.S. in 1941. This was followed by a year spent at Princeton University on a Fellowship.

In December of 1941, he married Mary Elizabeth Trent of Waco, Texas. During World War II Ed was drafted in the Army Medical Corps where he served at the Amarillo Air Base, Winter General Hospital and the Fitzsimmons General Hospital until his discharge. He returned to the University of Oklahoma as an instructor in Zoology as he completed his Ph.D. He and his family then moved to Waco, Texas where he became an assistant professor at Baylor University. In 1955, Ed and his family returned to Mt. Vernon where he became Professor and Chairman of the Biology Department at Cornell. During his time at Cornell he enjoyed summer appointments at University of Tennessee Medical School, and at the University of Iowa in the Zoology Dept. He spent two years in Cali, Colombia as a special field staff member of the Rockefeller Foundation, and as a consultant to the Biology Department of the Universidad de Valle. In 1982, Ed retired from Cornell.

Ed’s first wife, Elizabeth, was killed in an airplane accident in Venezuela. In 1970, he married Dorothy Deal Ware in 1970 and they remained in Mt. Vernon until 1994 when they moved to Oaknoll Retirement Residence in Iowa City. During his years in Mt. Vernon he was involved with the Methodist Church, Lions Club, and Mt. Vernon- Lisbon Area Ambulance Service. He also served on the Board of Directors of St. Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids and was past president and former editor of the Iowa Academy of Science. Since moving to Iowa City he has been active in the New Horizons Band and the “Speak Up” program for fifth graders in the Iowa City Schools. At Oaknoll, he served on the Resident’s Council, including one term as president.

In 2007, Ed was surprised and honored when former Cornell student and renowned scientist, Professor Jack Roberts ’65  of Vanderbilt University was awarded an endowed chair and chose to name it the “T. Edwin Rogers Chair in Pharmacology and Medicine.”

Surviving Ed is his wife, Dorothy; sisters, Martha McNabb and Dorothy Narro, daughter, Jane Rogers Gray, son, Richard Glenn Rogers (Patti), step-children, J. Scott Ware (“Wan”), Douglas R. Ware , R. Dwight Ware (Judy), David H. Ware (Lucia) and Jessie Ware (“Stacie”) and by 13 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Mary Elizabeth (Trent); and his brother, William C. Rogers.

Ed’s dry humor, quick wit and tall tales endeared him to friends, family, colleagues, and students alike.

Memorial donations can be made in his memory to Cornell College, Mt. Vernon-Lisbon Ambulance Service, Iowa City-Johnson County Senior Center (New Horizon’s Band), the Oaknoll Foundation or any charity of your choice.