I met Roger only two years ago. My wife and I were on a 34 day cruise around Australia and New Zealand, and I had forgotten to bring the battery charger for my Canon. So I was surreptitiously looking at cameras that other passengers had, hoping to spot one like mine. And that's how I met Roger, during a tour along Brisbane's main river.

Despite Roger being older than my father we hit it off rather quickly, as we both loved science. Every day, I would bring one of my two batteries down to his and Gretchen's stateroom; he would plop it into one of his two chargers, giving me my other one, fully recharged. We would chat, and as the cruise wore on we joined up for meals and social events aboard the ship. He always wore suspenders that looked like yardsticks.

We remained in touch by email, and he was always beseeching us to visit him in Malahat, including mailing us photos and descriptions of his beautiful home. We are sad that we never made it in time.

He was a remarkable man, always full of interesting facts and opinions. I'm very happy that he lived such a long and rewarding life, remaining bright and full of the joy of life to the end. His passing has deeply touched me.