Dr. Warren Francis Rogers Phd

Dr. Warren Francis Rogers PhD, 82, of 15 Atlantic Avenue Newport died peacefully at The Grand Islander Rehabilitation Center on Saturday October 29. Born on August 14, 1929 in New York City, he spent his entire young life in Ireland, raised by his mother s family in the City of Drogheda. He graduated from Trinity College Dublin at age 20 with a degree in mechanical engineering and had been offered a job to help build the South African railway system. Being an American citizen however, he was informed at the American Embassy that in order to receive a passport he would need to register for the selective service. Rather than be drafted away from a job in another country, Warren decided instead to re-emigrate to the United States where he volunteered to join the United States Navy as an enlisted man and fulfill his obligation of service to the country of his birth. His initial three year commitment to the Navy eventually became a twenty-three year career on active duty.Before long, Warren superiors recognized his aptitude and advanced level of education and recommended that he attend aviation officer candidate school. In 1952 he was commissioned as an ensign and eventually would spend fifteen years on active flight status as a naval aviator, flying all manner of aircraft from the F-4U Corsair during The Korean War to being a patrol plane commander of a P-2V Neptune during the Vietnam War.During his naval service, Warren realized that he wished to further his academic career in the area of mathematics and specifically statistics. He eventually applied and was accepted to the doctoral program in statistics at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California after completing the necessary supporting course work at the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey. Warren received his PhD in statistics from Stanford in in 1968. As he was still serving as a naval officer at this time, he was posted to the Pentagon to oversee the U.S. Navy budget specifically in the area of logistics.While at the Pentagon, Admiral Stansfield Turner asked Dr. Rogers to retire from active duty and accompany him to Newport, Rhode Island to establish what is now known as the NSDM program of study at The Naval War College. Having fallen in love with life in Newport, Warrens wife Beth suggested they had found the place they would spend the rest of their lives.Dr. Rogers next accepted the chairmanship of the Department of Management Science at The University of Rhode Island s business school. While here he was asked to look at a particularly difficult problem by the American Petroleum Institute relating predicting the failure rate of underground steel gasoline tanks due to corrosion. The solution to this problem became a product used by the vast majority of the petroleum industry and in 1979 led to Warren and his business partner Jill Jones establishing Warren Rogers Associates Inc. which is now located in Middletown. During the initial few years as WRA was diversifying its product offerings Warren also served as Vice President for Research at The Center for Naval Analysis in Alexandria, Virginia.Locally Warren will also be remembered as a lover of classical music and gourmet cooking, as he would often entertain his friends with varying helpings of both with his wife Beth over the many years they lived in Newport. Warren served as president of Concerts on the Island in the mid 1970 s. Warren was an enthusiastic member of the Newport Reading Room for over 30 years and served as a member of the Board of Governors. He is predeceased by his loving wife Beth in 2007, and is survived by his daughter Maureen A. Rogers of Albuquerque, New Mexico, sons David W. Rogers and Michael W. Rogers, both of Newport and grandsons Patrick D. Rogers and Scott M. Rogers, both of Dexter, Michigan.A memorial service will be held on Friday November 4th from 11 AM until 1 PM at the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, with a graveside ceremony to follow.