Marlin N. Rogers

Services will be at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Monday, February 28, with visitation at from 10:00 am – 11:00 am and Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery.

Dr. Rogers was born December 18, 1923, in Mexico, MO to Harold Eugene and Edna Shire Rogers. He attended Sunrise School and St. Brendan High School. After 3 semesters of college, he was drafted into the U.S. Eighth Air Force, stationed in Hawaii and Okinawa. Marlin graduated from the University of Missouri in 1948 with a B.S. in Agriculture with Distinction.

He worked for Griffen Floral Co. in Hannibal, MO before returning to MU for his Masters, and then going to Cornell for his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology. He returned to MU as Assistant Professor of Horticulture in January 1956, where he remained until retirement as Professor Emeritus in September 1986. During this period he was honored with the Burpee Award in Horticulture and the Missouri State Horticultural Society Award. He was selected for membership in Alpha Zeta, Gamma Sigma Delta, Sigma Xi, and Pi Alpha Xi.

On December 29, 1956, he married Elizabeth Lucinda BonDurant in White Plains, NY.

During his professional career, Dr. Rogers worked with hundreds of commercial floriculture students who are now located all over the world. He took great delight in visiting them. He spent 1981-1982 on sabbatical leave at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Dr. Rogers received awards from the Society of American Florists, American Carnation Society, and the American Society for Horticultural Science. He also received an Outstanding Advisor Award from the MU College of Agriculture, the UMC Faculty Alumni Award, and was made a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science and of Pi Alpha Xi. With Dr. Benny O.S. Tjia, he co-authored a book entitled “Gerbera Production” and contributed chapters to many other books.

After retirement, he and his wife traveled extensively, and he became a member of the Columbia Kiwanis Golden K, where he served as Editor of their monthly newsletter from 1993-2010.

Dr. Rogers and his wife were charter members of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church from its founding in 1957. He served on the Parish Council, as a lector and communion minister, and with the Rite for Christian Initiation of Adults.

Dr. Rogers was predeceased by his parents and a daughter, Mary Ellen Rogers Hart.

He is survived by his wife, Betty; son Michael J. Rogers of Columbia; five grandchildren, Jennifer Cave of Hazelwood, Danielle Hart of St. Louis, Jennifer and Paige Rogers of Savannah, TN, and Walter Rogers of Hallsville; as well as and 3 great-grandchildren.

Donations are welcome to Our Lady of Lourdes Church or The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri.