Roger Alan Repp was a beloved son, husband, father, uncle and cousin. He cherished his family and loved spending time with them at home and in the wilds of nature. He was grateful for the memories and moments shared with them. Roger will be remembered for his love of life, his sense of humor and hearty laugh, and his generous spirit, exemplified by his donation through Donor Network of Arizona.
Roger grew up in the Midwest and, after earning his journeyman tool-and-die-maker degree, worked in Illinois, Florida, Washington and Arizona, where he retired from his position as instrument shop supervisor for the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.
Roger said he came out of his mother’s womb as a herpetologist. He moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1981, and his interest in the local herpetofauna exploded into a passion. He served as president of the Tucson Herpetological Society and was the recipient of its esteemed Jarchow Conservation Award for excellence in Southwestern herpetology. He joined forces with Dr. Gordon Schuett to begin a 15-year radio telemetry study on four species of rattlesnakes, as well as Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum). His field notes are now archived at the Chiricahua Desert Museum in Rodeo, New Mexico.
Roger loved writing about the joy of “herping” and sharing the beauty of the natural world. He authored or co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed papers and published more than 100 herp-related articles in various herpetological society newsletters. For many years, he published a monthly column in the Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society.
In Roger’s own words, used at the end of his articles: “This here is Roger Repp, signing off from Southern Arizona, where the turtles are strong, the snakes are handsome, and the lizards are all above average.”
