Rick Rogers
Rogers, Ross Frederick "Rick", of Signal Mountain, passed away on November 16, 2017, peacefully at Alexian Village with family by his side.
Dr. Rogers was born Aug. 27, 1944, at Barksdale Field (A.F.B.) in Louisiana. He lived all over the world while his father served in the Air Force and ended up graduating from Redlands High School in California in 1962.
Dr. Rogers graduated in 1966 from the U.S. Naval Academy with a BS in Engineering. In addition to his engineering degree, Rick completed a master's degree in Mathematics Education from Georgia Southern University in 1982 and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Tennessee in 2004. He held numerous senior reactor operator licenses and certifications on various reactor plant designs, including a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He was a Certified Station Nuclear Engineer from General Electric.
Dr. Rogers served eight years in nuclear submarines, finally as a chief engineer on a fast attack submarine. Leaving the submarine service in 1974, he joined the Atomic Energy Commission (later the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) as a reactor inspector and was selected to be the first NRC Resident Inspector in the country in 1978. He moved to private industry in 1982 as Plant Operations Manager with Georgia Power Company and Mississippi Power & Light. He became an assistant plant manager at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Plant in 1984 to assist in obtaining a Full Power License. Rick moved to TVA in 1989 as a senior executive service manager to help restore TVA's nuclear program to national excellence. Following 15 years at TVA in various senior positions, he retired in 2004. Dr. Rogers then taught undergraduate and graduate mathematics at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga as the Mathematics Department Head. He retired in 2006.
At the National level, Rick served as a board member on the Paralyzed Veterans of America's Spinal Cord Research Foundation. At the State level, he served for 15 years on the Governor's Rehabilitation Advisory Council. Locally, he was a past president of Chattanooga's Signal Centers, a non-profit United Way agency dealing with cerebral palsy and was involved in other local nonprofits.
He was a Son of the American Revolution, a Son of Confederate Veterans, a member of the Navy League, a Life Member of the U.S. Naval Academy, the National Rifle Association, the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Rick enjoyed spending time with his 11 grandchildren. He taught them all to play chess by age five and would hold family chess tournaments. He was involved with the Chess Club at Thrasher Elementary School on Signal Mountain. He loved to hunt back in the day and tinker around in the garage.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 41 years, Ollie DeLane Rogers, his mother, Jane Ann Rogers, and father, Colonel Ross Frederick Rogers I.
Survivors include his daughters, Laura Cooper (Stephen) and Kristen Cunningham (Lee), and sons, David Baker (Karlin), Randy Rogers (Tiffany) and Charles Rogers, sister, Rita Suder, brothers, Stephen Rogers, Thomas Rogers and Mark Rogers, and 11 grandchildren, Stephanie Cooper, Andrew Cooper, James Cooper, Erin Cooper, Kelly Cooper, Lee Michael Cunningham, Katherine Cunningham, Caroline Cunningham, William Baker, David Baker and Samuel Baker.
A Celebration of Rick’s Life will be held on Monday, Nov. 27, at 1 p.m. The family will receive friends at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
He will be buried at the Chattanooga National Cemetery with his wife, DeLane.
Arrangements are by Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 South Moore Road, East Ridge, TN 37412. (423) 698-2541.
Please share your thoughts and memories at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com.