Rodger Allen Remington

Dr. Rodger Allen Remington, of Grand Rapids, passed quietly in his sleep at MediLodge of Kalamazoo, at 9:19pm on Monday, August 19.  He is survived by his loving wife Jane, who currently resides at the Laurels of Hudsonville, and his son David of Grand Rapids.  Rodger was born in 1929 in Marinette, Wisconsin, and was the second youngest of seven.  After graduating from high school a year early, he journeyed to Grand Rapids to attend Aquinas College, earning the first of his two degrees from Aquinas in 1951.  Rodger then served 2 years in Korea, earning an honorable discharge in 1953.  He then returned to Aquinas, graduating in 1955 with the lone Bachelors of Business Administration degree.  After a brief stint at the University of Michigan, Rodger returned to the Grand Rapids area, working a variety of odd jobs in local drug stores, restaurants, and the construction business. 

As he approached 30, Rodger contemplated career options, and realized how much he liked reading history books.  He decided if he obtained his doctorate, he could blend his avocation into his vocation.  So he obtained his Masters in History in 1960, and then his Doctorate in 1963, from St. Louis University.  Rodger and Jane married in 1963, and welcomed their son David in 1966.  Rodger enjoyed a rapid track to tenure as full professor at Aquinas, a position he maintained until retiring in 1997.  A late in life interest in the JFK assassination, led Rodger to author four books on the subject in the 2000s.  An admitted “frustrated lawyer”, Rodger’s works were critical of the methodology of the Warren Commission and its conclusions.  A fifth book remains in the works, and may ultimately be published as well.

Rodger also channeled his interest in the law into several years of volunteering in the 1980s in various Victim Witness programs in downtown Grand Rapids.  Rodgers’s other interests included cribbage, a game called “padten” created with buddies at the Aquinas gym, and Green Bay Packers football.   In later years, when David relocated back to the area, Rodger was known to regale friends for hours at the annual Aquinas Homecoming weekend, attending several together from 2004 through recent years. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Jude’s Parish, 1120 4 Mile Road, in Grand Rapids, at 11 a.m. on Friday, September 27.  A visitation will be offered beginning at 10:00 prior to the service, with lunch to follow immediately after Mass, in the attached Brophy Center at St. Jude’s.  Friends and family are welcome to participate in any or all parts of the celebration, as their schedule permits. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rodger Allen Remington, please visit our floral store.