James Palmer Rogers

James Palmer Rogers

April 27, 1930 - September 9, 2026

Devoted father, distinguished petroleum geologist, community leader, and humanitarian.

On September 9, 2026 James P. Rogers (Jim) passed away at his home in Parker, Colorado. He was 96 years old.

Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, Jim Rogers was the son of Jeanette Palmer Rogers, originally from Coldwater, Michigan, and George Earl Rogers, Jr., originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jim’s early years included time spent in Sea Scouts where he learned sailing basics, and in Boy Scouts where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Jim was a graduate of Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, NJ, where he followed his father’s musical talent by playing trumpet and leading a high school dance band for several years.”

Jim’s distinguished geological career began with education through a Master of Science degree at the University of Michigan in 1953, where he was a third-generation alumnus. all three men being in the Kappa Sigma fraternity. His late wife Barbara was also a U of M graduate and the daughter of a Michigan faculty member. After working briefly for Gulf Oil Co., including time working as a roughneck on drilling rigs, Jim joined Shell Oil Company in 1954 where he developed a dedication to the study of rock composition of well cores and cuttings, and to subsurface stratigraphy which became the hallmark of his successful career. In 1965 Jim and his family were transferred to Denver, and in 1968 Jim left Shell to join Cleary Petroleum as Rocky Mountain Exploration Manager. In 1970 Jim became an independent consulting geologist, and in 1979 he formed National Geological Services, Inc. as his principal business entity.

Throughout Jim’s life he consistently “gave back” to the communities he was part of, be they the cities where he and his family lived, the church communities he was part of, or the many professional geological organizations and societies he participated in. Some of these included being a Scoutmaster while living in Wichita, Kansas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, working with troubled youth at Denver Inner City Parish, teaching English to Vietnamese immigrants, supporting local Salvation Army chapters, and later, working through Rotary International and Engineers Without Borders to provide water wells, tanks and distribution systems for high mountain villages in remote parts of Peru that had no running water. Jim also worked in advisory roles on city planning councils for the establishment of open space areas.

Jim was actively involved in multiple geological professional organizations including the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) and American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) where he held many leadership roles and received several honors. In RMAG his leadership roles included Board of Directors Secretary, Councilor, President-Elect and President in 1986. He was presented a Distinguished Service Award in 1988, partially in recognition for his work establishing an Employment Resource Center for RMAG members affected by the petroleum industry collapse that occurred in the mid-80s. In 2017, Jim was awarded RMAG Honorary Membership. Jim had long dedication to the RMAG publication the Mountain Geologist for which he was Associate Editor for many years. In AAPG, Jim served as Technical Program Director for the 1980 National Convention, and in the Division of Professional Affairs for which Jim was a member of the Advisory Board, Vice President, and President for the 1990-1991 term.

Over the years Jim published extensively in both AAPG and RMAG professional journals, eager to share the knowledge and experience gained through over 50 years of studying mid-continent and Rocky Mountain hydrocarbon reservoirs, often concentrating on Pennsylvanian and Mississippian carbonate rocks and cherts. His business successes included discovery of West Dickinson Field in North Dakota while with Shell, and a number of discoveries as an independent geologist, most notable of which are Eckley and Waverly Fields in Eastern Colorado.

In the early 1980s, Jim and his wife Barbara built a house on Virgin Gorda in the BVI. From this time until the early 2000s Jim and Barbara would spend several months each year at their Caribbean home, often visited by friends and family members to share the beauty of this part of the world that Jim and Barbara discovered when bareboat sailing there in the 1970s. Even at this time in their lives, Jim and Barbara continued to give back to their community with Jim teaching geology in the community college on Tortola Island and Barbara teaching art in the Virgin Gorda elementary schools.

Jim’s Christian faith was an important part of his life. A devoted member of First Plymouth Congregational Church in Englewood, Colorado, Jim generously gave his time and financial support to the church for several decades.

Jim is survived by his brother, John B. Rogers of Temecula, California; his three children, Abbe Rogers Bolich (Neil), Cynthia Rogers Goldsmith (James), and Christopher T. Rogers; five grandchildren, Sarah Jane Bolich, Katie LaFleur, William James Goldsmith, John Townsend Rogers, and Christopher Keith Rogers; and two great grandchildren, Michael Aiden Holub, and Savannah Lynn Peters.

Jim leaves a legacy of hard work and professional achievement, giving back to his local communities and professional organizations, and devotion to family. Jim will be laid to rest next to his wife, Barbara Townsend Rogers in Coldwater, Michigan following a private ceremony in November (date TBD).

Rest in peace, Dad. We love you.