Friends and family mourn the passing of Robert Leonard Rodgers on May 10, 2010 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington at the age of 83.

He was born on September 23, 1926 in the family home in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

In 1928 the family moved to Lomita, California, settling a short time later in the city of Compton where his parents lived until 1967. He studied from elementary through high school in Compton and he established himself as an excellent student and athlete. He was on the tennis team at Compton High School, was a lifeguard at the High School swimming pool and was a good friend to legendary baseball star Duke Snider. Bob also excelled at music, directing the school band at the age of 12 and playing the Baritone in the marching band at the Rose Parade.

As did many of his (greatest) generation, he graduated from Compton High School and enlisted in the Navy to help fight world War II. He was deployed in the South Pacific as the Quartermaster Third Class on the aircraft carrier USS TULAGI (for more information go to http://www.navysite.de/cve/cve72.htm ) until the end of the war. After the war he was stationed in Seattle, Washington where he spent his days decommissioning his aircraft carrier and his evenings with his fiance and future wife Marie Henderson. During this time he also developed a second love; a love of photography that would serve him well his entire life.

Shortly after they were married, Bob and Marie moved to Southern California. Bob worked for Northrop Aviation, first in the photo lab, then as a photographer. His great delight was to fly in the chase plane shooting publicity photographs of new aircraft.

Eventually he transitioned from photography to photodocumentation, which allowed him to design the cameras for capturing tests on film. His love of photography, physics and mechanical engineering allowed him to excel in designing and leading teams that designed equipment for high-speed, slow-motion and harsh environments. He was responsible for the test footage of the rocket plume from a number of project Mercury tests and flights. He was also responsible for the motion pictures of John Glenn’s straps floating in the weightlessness of the first manned orbital space flight.

It was during this time that he served two terms as the President of a young technical society called SPIE; The Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers. All of his children could routinely use that phrase on their classmates. He was responsible for laying the foundations that have helped to build SPIE to what it is today. Many years later he was honored as a Fellow of the Society. SPIE and its people and operations remained his passion throughout his life.

Unknown to most people (for obvious reasons) was work that he performed in the service of his country. In addition to his other achievements, he lead teams of engineers to develop many covert observing and listening devices. When the pressures of working highly sensitive jobs finally became too much for him he was given conditional permission to start a new life.

During these years he did a great many things that demanded his style of creativity and innovation, from creating start-up companies and consulting to using lasers to quickly and accurately calibrate sensitive optical equipment. And always, he remained current on his beloved technology, even into his 80s. In 1988, Bob and Marie moved to Washington State to be near Marie’s family.

There are few people today who can claim to have taught Ph.D.-level curriculum who lacked the formal education that many consider necessary to do so. Yet, in fields from optics to physics to business to Biblical studies he established himself as an expert, not as a result of credentials but as the result of solid accomplishments.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 64 years, Marie Luella Rodgers, three children, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

The memorial service will held be on Monday, May 24, 2010 at 2:00 PM. It will be at:

Lighthouse Christian Center
10711 80th Avenue East
Puyallup, WA 98373
253-848-2028
Directions are available at www.lighthousehome.org

The military funeral will be on May 25, 2010 at 1:00 PM

Tahoma National Cemetery
18600 SE 240th St
Kent, WA 98942

If you have thoughts, recollections, memories, photos or stories, the family would be delighted to have you contribute them to the “Book of Memories” on the Tacoma Mausoleum and Mortuary web site.

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