Dr. Roger C. Greer

Dr. Roger Clement Greer died peacefully on November 9, 2014 at Collier Hospice Center in Wheat Ridge, at the age of 86. He was predeceased by his wife of 49 years, Natalia Markulis Greer, and daughter Wanda Alicia Simpson. He was survived by his son Marc Antoni Greer (two grandchildren: Michael Thomas Greer and Lauren Aileen Greer), daughter Felicia Alexandra Williams (three grandchildren: Nickolas Antoni Williams, Natalia Alexandra Woodman, and Jonathan Joseph Williams), and granddaughter by Wanda, Alicia Greer Simpson. Roger was born on April 29, 1928 in Pilot Mound, Minn., the son of Richard Elmer Greer and Henrietta Caroline Greer (née Sorensen). As a boy, Roger lived and worked on the family farm on Whiskey Hill until his duty called him to volunteer for the Navy at the age of 17. After completing his brief tour, he attended and graduated with a BA in History from St. John's University in St. Paul, Minn. He went on to re-enlist, this time entering Army Intelligence, where he served in Germany during the Korean War. It was during that tour where he would meet Natalia Markulis, at the time an Army librarian, in Stuttgart, Germany. Natalia soon became the love of his life and changed the course of his personal and professional future. After his second tour the two married in 1954 and settled in Brooklyn, New York. He went on to receive a Masters of Library Science in 1956 from Rutgers University; after working at a series of public and academic libraries, he returned to Rutgers to receive his PhD in 1964. Roger would go on to teach for 31 years; as Dean of Library Science programs at Syracuse University, University of Southern California, as well as teaching courses at the University of Denver, Rutgers University, and Emporia State University of Kansas. Even after his retirement in 1995, he continued as a visiting and distance learning professor and lecturer. He conducted research and refined his thoughts with publications and collaborations with former students and colleagues. During his long and prestigious academic career, he became the loving father of three children, and later six grandchildren, to each of whom he imparted his lifelong passion for academic pursuit and intellectual perfection. When he was not engrossed in reading or research, he was frequently traveling with Natalia abroad, or taking cross-country road trips (often by motorcycle) to fish and visit with relatives in his Minnesota homeland. Always critical and searching for truth, Roger enjoyed lively discussion about subjects ranging from ""the information infrastructure,"" to religion and politics, to the existence of extraterrestrials. There was nothing Roger enjoyed more than a spirited argument about the nature of life and the universe alongside a short-order breakfast. Celebration of his life Tuesday, 11/11/14, 11:00 AM, Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3101 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80227.