Richard Cox Rodgers' Obituary
RICHARD C. RODGERS, JR.
March 5, 1947- August 8, 2014
Rick Rodgers was born in Tampa, Florida, the son of Dr. Richard and Elizabeth Rodgers. In his youth, he was a competitive swimmer and enjoyed working on his Model T and fishing. At the Univ. of Florida, he became interested in solar energy, which led to his designing a solar flat plate collector that became the industry standard in 1976. Rick was an accomplished engineer and designer, providing innovative solutions in all areas of renewable energy. Among his many projects, Rick developed load forecasting software for PG&E that averted common black outs for the public. He had an appreciation for Buddhism and used his talents to design a natural cooling system for a Zen Buddhist Monastery in Ukiah, CA. His thermal chimney cooling system protected the 10,000 golden statues of the Buddha from melting in the heat and is still one of the largest natural cooling systems in the modern world. But the accomplishment that gave Rick the greatest pride and joy was the birth of his son, Ricky. Rick’s father, mother, and brother, Dan Rodgers, preceded him in passing. He is survived by his son, Richard “Rick” Rodgers of Oakland, his siblings, Jim Rodgers of Atlanta, Georgia, Tom Rodgers of Elmira, NY and Ann Rodgers of San Diego. A memorial service will be held at the Chapel of the Chimes, located at 4499 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California. This celebration of Rick’s life will begin at 10 am on Sunday, August 17th, followed by a reception. Memorial donations may be made to NPR radio, Rick’s favorite radio station, the one he listened to every morning over a cup of coffee.
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