Roger Repp

Roger Alan Repp (1954-2025) went home to be with the Lord on November 24, 2025, where he joins his beloved son, Tim; his parents, Ruth and Frank; two brothers, Robert and Ronald; and many other loved ones. Roger is survived by his wife, Dianna; sister, Julie (Arthur); brother, Dan; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was grateful for his family, and thankful for all the memories and moments shared with them.

Roger was born in Illinois, where he earned his journeyman certification as a tool and die maker. He worked in Illinois, Florida, Washington, and Arizona, eventually retiring from his position as the Instrument Shop Supervisor for the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.

Roger had a lightness about him, and yes, sometimes a prickly side! -- but he loved to laugh and tell jokes and stories. He dearly loved the natural world, and often thanked God for this beautiful area we live in.

Roger moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1981, and [after connecting with the Tucson Herpetological Society] his interest in the local herpetofauna exploded into a rabid passion. He maintained consistent field documentation of all snakes, several lizard species, and all turtles encountered in Arizona from 1989 through 1999, and broadened that dataset to include all herps encountered since the year 2000. In March of 2001, he joined forces with Dr. Gordon Schuett to begin a 15-year long radio telemetry study on four species of rattlesnake, as well as Gila Monsters (Heloderma suspectum).

Roger loved writing about the joy of ‘herping’ and sharing about the beauty of the natural world. He authored or coauthored over 20 peer review papers, and published over 100 herp-related articles in various herp society newsletters. For many years he published a monthly column in the Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society. Roger served as president of the Tucson Herpetological Society, and was the recipient of its esteemed Jarchow Conservation Award for excellence in southwestern herpetology.

Celebrations of Roger's life will be held in spring, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona, and in Illinois. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to your local community food bank (or other non-profit community organization), and enjoying a walk in the beautiful world in which we live.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? . . . For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (from Romans 8)