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Memorial Keepers(1)
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Melissa Hopwood
Richard Alan Rodgers
July 2nd, 1957 - May 16th, 2021
July 2nd, 1957 - May 16th, 2021
After a short but fierce battle with Cancer, Rick took his final breath the afternoon of Sunday the16th of May 2021, surrounded by the ones he loved, including his wife Linda, son Tyler, daughters Chelsea and Melissa, and son-in-law James. We didn't expect we would be writing this two months from his original diagnosis in March 2021. Rick's passing was swift and has taken us all by surprise. Some of us know him as Dad, others as co-worker or manager and others as a lifelong friend.
Rick was a man of simple and specific taste who loved his family deeply and worked hard to give them the very best this life could offer. He was a straight shooter in the most kind and gentle way. He was kind and generous, wise and insightful, patient, thorough and had a quirky sense of humour. Rick was a careful planner, finding joy in the details and took pride in his work; from the complex products he delivered while at Oracle, to wrapping presents for his kids Christmas Eve. He enjoyed sports and was a devout Hawks fan, he would have been a great football coach! Rick retired in July 2020 after a 30 year career in Engineering with hopes and plans of how he would spend his retirement. Looking forward to building things in his workshop, pottering around the house, and visiting his granddaughters in Australia. We miss him dearly and wish we had been given more time.
Rick chose to be cremated and a memorial will be placed in the little cemetery in Oak Harbor, Washington, his home town.
We have many fond memories as a family and would love you to share photos you have with Rick, memories and stories of time spent with him and messages for the family.
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Tributes
Share a favorite memory, send condolences, and honor Richard’s life with a heartfelt message.
Fraser Arnot
Hi Linda, I was so sorry to hear of Rick's death from a another Sun Microsystems colleague just the other day. I worked with Rick through the early 90's (badge 67 in Linlithgow Scotland) and onwards up to 2009 before I got made redundant with the downturn. I have very fond memories of Rick while we worked on the other side of the "pond" in Test Engineering. I don't recall having too many run-ins but do remember he was always one to have an opinion or idea. I think our boss at the time was Bill Currie when we were at our most collaborative. One memory that did pop into my head was when I was over for a trip and we somehow managed to find time to play golf in searing (for me) 98 DegF heat. Pat Judt another Test Engineer was in charge of the golf buggy (racing car!!) and we had a great day out. I'm playing golf in a couple of weeks while on vacation and will try and hit a "belter" in honor of Rick. My best wishes to you and your family at this time. Fraser
Sarah Ni
I heard you put on glasses and smiled when looking at this picture I put together. Rick, we love you and miss you.
Linda Rodgers
Hello to all who knew Rick, We would take great comfort if you might share any of your memories with us. This is a story about a wonderful time with my loving husband, A time when we packed up our cars, and moved from Bellingham Washington to Phoenix Arizona where Rick studied electronic engineering and I was a cashier for Safeway., With the love of outdoor living, Arizona was a wonderland of dry weather. and easy fishing for us compared to Washington. In Arizona you can fish almost anywhere any time, day or night. In Washington the rule book as I remember was the fish needed to be over an inch thick! Our favorite spot to make camp was Beaver Creek Campground ,near Sedona. Only about a 2 hour drive north from our apartment, We would leave the city as soon as possible, often late in the evening when we had finished work for the week and would have our feet in the creek, walking upstream and fishing when the sun came up. Catch and release was our style, still is. This photo is from 1988, and it captures us perfectly.
Steve Allred
I met Rick first when we both worked for Sun in California; he was lost without my brilliant input and so had to followed me to Oregon (in my own head). I am the only person to consistently beat him into the office, which just means he and I share the same type of crazy. He’ll kill me when I see him next for sharing this, but it’s truly my fondest memory. He and I went out for a motorcycle ride when he was still a fairly new rider, and I should have known he would do everything he could to keep pace. I took a 90 degree corner on Tile Flat road a bit fast, and there came Rick, right on my tail. Well, I made the corner…Rick did not. I looked back, no Rick. So I turned around and went back to the corner only to find Rick off the road, down a gravel hill, buried in blackberries. Needless to say it took us both a while to dig his bike out. With little damage to anything, other than his bruised ego, we were back on the road. I’m curious if Linda ever heard this story
Sarah Ni
Rick and I worked together closely every day for 2 years (2018-2020) although we've met for 4 at Oracle. In the beginning, he was just a guy who I'd see having his morning cigarette, every morning at 8, when I pulled up at work. Slowly, I get to know him more and more. At some point, he became my workdad. When? Probably when he stood up for me in meetings, shared guidance/suggestions with me, the numerous hallway talks of stories and frustrations of our day, or when he stayed behind to support my meetings while Chase and Steve bailed for delicious Mayas tacos :) Rick, you had taught me so much more than just work, but also the importance of family and the possibility of future, of myself. When we were last in office, right before winter break of late 2019, we talked about parenthood. You shared the memory of holding Melissa in your arm for the first time, and told me how beautiful it is being a parent, and that I will be a great mom. I can never forget your humor (awesome sarcastic comments), laughs, and your smile when we stood face to face in your beautiful home, and meeting Linda and Tyler for the first time. I still think of you often where I’d pull up my phone to read our texts and team photos. I am truly glad to have worked with you, known you, and learned from you. Rick Rodgers, you are always in my heart :)
Zack Paladino
When I started at Oracle in 2014 my desk was within the same cubicle grid as Rick's. Over the next 5.5 years I was lucky enough to get to know Rick as both a peer and as a person. Professionally, Rick was deeply dedicated to turning rocks, asking hard questions, improving bad situations, helping his peers in any way possible and could teach other engineers a master class in managing a program manager. His dry wit, sharp intellect delivered through his gruff voice made it incredibly easy to like the guy. The person side of Rick slowly bubbled up through idle conversation we had early in the morning when the office was empty. He would talk about his wife, his kids and how much enjoyed them. We would discuss fast cars, reckless driving and his glory days in Sun Micro Systems. He shared stories of him working his ass off as a youth, doing crap jobs like hanging dry wall and realizing that life wasn’t for him and the guy always ate panda express on Wednesdays (so many times his lunch reminded me what day of the week it was). Through all of these conversations, the Rick I got to know was a salt of the earth guy who only knew hard work, who believed in doing the right thing even if it came with more work, who had fine-tuned his saltyness to an art, someone who had a hard shell with a soft heart and loved his family dearly. Rick the "rock" Rogers was a wonderful role model that taught me more than he ever knew. Thank you Rick for all of the laughs, inside jokes, smart ass comments, and gentle guidance over the years.
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