PATIENCE GRIFFIN ROGGE
September 11, 1936 - May 23, 2015
We are profoundly sad to announce the loss of Patience Griffin Rogge, beloved wife of David M. Rogge, on May 23, 2015 in Seattle, WA, after a sudden illness. Born September 11, 1936 in Bradford, Pennsylvania to Constance Ward Griffin and Albert A. Griffin; Patience’s love of travel and learning took her around the world and into the lives of many.
After graduating from Bradford High School in 1954 and attending Pennsylvania State University, from 1954-1957, she married David M. Rogge in Staten Island, NY on August 31, 1957. She held a BA in American Government (1962) and a Master of Library Science (1963) from the University of California Berkeley.
A career librarian, Patience was a pillar of civic activism in the many different communities she lived in throughout her life; from Richmond, CA to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia to Port Townsend, WA; a model of democratic ideals with an unbending will to promote the arts, education and government accountability. Her passion for volunteering brought her wide and varied experiences, in nature education, agricultural land preservation efforts, arts administration, and local politics as a dedicated and active member of the Democratic Party in California and in Washington State.
A Port Townsend, WA resident since 1993, Patience joined the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG) Board of Directors in 2005. She chaired the WCOG Events Committee, organizing scores of Public Records and Open Public Meetings Laws Forums in various cities across Washington, and was instrumental in planning the organization’s awards events, conferences and Sunshine Week activities.
During her 11 years as a trustee of the Jefferson County Rural Library District, Patience was active in the Washington Library Association (WLA), serving as board member and chair of the Washington Library Friends and Trustees Association (WLFTA) and Grassroots! interest groups.
Patience single-handedly built the Fort Worden Oral History Program. She most recently chaired the board of the Friends of Fort Worden and the Jefferson County Higher Education Committee and also served on the Fort Worden Advisory Committee.
Much enthused by journalism, she contributed to many different local newsletter publications in California and Washington and her “Profiles” column was previously a regular feature in the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Newsletter.
Her unflagging civic engagement garnered recognition and awards : WLFTA Trustee Award 2001; WLA Honorary Life Membership 2005; Friends of Fort Worden Volunteer of the Year 2009; Jefferson County Historical Society Merit Award, 2010; WCOG James Andersen Award 2011.
Patience is survived by her husband of 58 years, her daughter Rachel Rogge and her partner Andrew Recher, her daughter Michelle Rogge and her husband Jean-Louis Thauvin, her grandchildren Penelope and Finley Rogge Thauvin, by her sisters Prudence Davis Beck and Alanna Geist Mason Griffin, as well as by numerous and beloved cousins, nieces, nephews (both in the US and in France), and by her cherished cat Geraldine.
“I have always been a woman who arranges things
For the pleasure and the profit it derives
I have always been a woman who arranges things
Like furniture and daffodils and lives” --
from “Hello Dolly”
A private memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to one of the causes dear to Patience:
Friends of Fort Worden
Washington Coalition for Open Government
Jefferson County Library