Record details
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By Robyn M. Rogers, Sheryl Rogers Palmer and Rev. Paul Powell
We are so excited about the opening of the Robert M. Rogers Nursing and Health Sciences Center! Bob Rogers knew education was key to changing lives and he would be pleased with how the donation from the Robert M. Rogers Foundation fits the Foundation’s mission.
This new Center will create opportunities for countless people to follow their dreams. We hope that Bob’s life will inspire others to realize that there are no limits to their success unless they limit themselves. Remembering Bob makes us smile and miss him more.
Robert McDonald Rogers was born in 1926, the first child of George and Pearl (McDonald) Rogers. His mother taught him to read and write long before starting school. Bob’s father, a hardworking farmer, was his hero. Countless farmers lost everything during the Depression and after the Rogers’ livestock contracted cholera, the herd of over 100 had to be destroyed. Losing the family farm was terrible and it scarred his family forever. Depression era people tended to be cautious, but somehow Bob grew up to be a risk taker. He was a born entrepreneur who worked hard and thrived on betting on his own skills and abilities. He once said that there was a part of him that wouldn’t mind having to start over again just to see if he could do it.
Bob took chances when he saw opportunities. He went from running a movie projector to owning a theater to buying drive-in theaters. In Tyler, he started offering a $1 per carload ticket price and TJC students packed into cars to see the latest movies. He foresaw that TV would end the drive-in era, so he tried to get into television but couldn’t get a station license. Television signals didn’t reach rural areas and some entrepreneurs put up towers and cable to serve them. Driving through Sulphur Springs one day, Bob came across a cable business that had failed and he bought it with $5,000 and promised to pay another $5,000 as soon as he could. By providing good service, he grew the business and kept expanding at an almost dizzying speed. He was totally involved – his ’55 Buick even had a trailer hitch to pull line along the poles.
Bob was a member of Green Acres Baptist Church, and when the new Pastor came in 1972, Bob Rogers and his family welcomed and took in Paul and Cathy Powell. One day Rev. Powell was visiting with Bob and shared how disappointed he had been in 1956 on his first visit to Tyler as a young preacher. Paul had been asked to lead a revival and though he preached his heart out, hardly anyone came. What was most discouraging to Paul was that only one person came forward during that entire week to commit to Jesus Christ. With so little accomplished, it made Paul Powell question his calling, but now, 16 years later, he told Bob how excited he was to return to Tyler.
Bob said “Why, I’ll be! That was when I made my profession of faith! I was that one!” From then on an enduring bond of friendship was born.
Bob Rogers loved making deals, even with the most challenging people. He believed the best deals created a climate where both sides wanted to do future business together again. Bob’s mild manners were tested by some of the flamboyant early pioneers in cable television.
When he tried to buy the Amarillo cable system from eccentric businessman Stanley Marsh III (whose Cadillacs are planted nose down in his cotton field) Marsh started out by telling Bob that he was dealing with a brilliant businessman and that “the most brilliant thing I ever did was being born into a rich family.” Bob and Stanley were complete opposites but Bob Rogers was irrepressible and found a way to deal with even the most self-important personalities. The Marsh purchase was the most difficult ever until Jack Kent Cook, owner of the Washington Redskins, was selling off his cable ownership. Negotiations went on for months and Bob’s team looked bedraggled, but Bob didn’t give up. He never let his own ego get in the way of a deal, and he could deal with anyone. Between 1980 and 1990, Bob Rogers increased TCA Cable’s subscribers from 100,000 to over 400,000.
Bob Rogers was a humble, decent, unpretentious man. By definition, humans are imperfect creatures, but Bob was a good man who changed this community and changed it for good! Bob once told us “you can always make more money but you can’t make more time.” He would be proud that some of the money he made will touch the future for generations to come.
- Biography
- The Rogers Foundation is headed by TJC Heroes and Friends Robyn Rogers, Sheryl Rogers Palmer and the Reverend Paul Powell.
