Roger Evan Bergen was born July 15, 1959, in San Jose, California. He was the first child of Roger and Loretta Bergen and the first grandchild of Harry and Katherine Bergen. Peter and Sarah Becker were his maternal grandparents. Shortly before his second birthday, his parents presented him with a brother, Phillip, to complete their family.

From an early age, Roger Evan displayed his unique personality, intelligence, and strength of will. One example: A Sunday morning in 1963 - Roger is sitting on his father's lap in church - the minister begins his sermon with a rhetorical question, "What is the worst thing that can happen to you?" Suddenly Roger Evan pipes up in a loud voice, "To catch on fire!" Mom's and Dad's faces turn red, the congregation smiles, but the minister takes it in stride and incorporates it into his sermon. Rog's style is born.

When Roger Evan was named, his parents chose to use his middle name, Evan, to distinguish him from his father. But, when he went to kindergarten, his teacher asked what he wanted to be called and he said "Roger." So, then, at home he became "Rog" and has been ever since.

When Rog was four the family moved to Twain Harte, California. It was a great place to live and Rog had some good memories from that time. But, it soon became apparent that Twain Harte Elementary School wasn't quite sure what to do with Rog. He had learned the alphabet and taught himself to read by spelling out words long before he started school. In first grade he said he did not need school books, he could already read them and "he had lots of books at home." In fact, he liked to read the encyclopedia. Well . . . it must have taken, for his sister-in-law, Lyn, remembers him as a walking encyclopedia, able to answer almost any question put to him. He skipped second grade and liked third grade better. But he was a problem at school - he wanted to dominate the class discussions and correct the teacher's misstatements. Worse yet, he was almost always right. It was during this period that Rog professed faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour and was baptized in the church. By fourth grade, when his class studied simple human anatomy, he was reading and reporting on his father's dental school anatomy books.

Once again the family made the decision to move, this time to provide better educational opportunities for both Rog and Phil. After much deliberation, San Mateo was chosen and from 6th-8th grade Rog was in a special gifted program. He attended Aragon High School where he took most of the honors classes that were available. He was described by his school counselor as "marching to the beat of a different drummer." He became part of a social group led by a teacher in his home who directed the learning of history by stressing the culture through storytelling, songs, poetry, food and costumes of that particular time and place. And Rog loved this.

He enjoyed listening to Dr. Paul Larsen's sermons here at Peninsula Covenant Church, but lost interest in Sunday School because the teachers would not engage in intellectual discussions and could not answer the questions that mattered most to him.

Rog was a child prodigy, and all the connotations of that term - both positive and negative - applied to his childhood. While Rog tended to remember the negative side of this, the taunts of his peers or the misunderstandings of family or friends, his brother Phil was in a unique position to assess the positive aspects of his childhood.

Rog had a passion for knowledge. When he took an interest in something, he thoroughly immersed himself. It wasn't enough to know what children's books had to say. When he became interested in the Apollo missions, for instance, he had to know all the astronauts, all the rockets, the history of space flight, and the history of rocketry prior to space flight. He never had one interest at a time, but three, four, or five consuming interests.

Phil recalls that Rog taught him, by example, how to take an interest in the world around him and the world of ideas. One of the interests they shared was animals. Their procession of pets included cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, snakes, iguana, and turtles. They were avid bird watchers. In high school Rog took in baby and injured birds and nursed them back to independence. He then became interested in falconry and trained a small kestrel to hunt for him. One day the neighbors showed up at his door in alarm. The falcon had escaped from its enclosure and perched in their tree. They watched in amazement as Rog called to the bird with a clicking sound and it swooped down to land on his gloved hand.

Another great passion in Rog's life was history and historical simulations. In 1976 he helped to organized a reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which included hundreds of students. He played General Gage, one of the leaders of the British army. During high school he also became involved in the Society for Creative Anachronisms, a medieval and renaissance reenactment group, and the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Through these groups he found many of his closest friends, people he could relate to and respect. These interests also led directly to his course of studies at UC Berkeley in Medieval History and Scandinavian Studies.

Rog's pursuit of knowledge was never exclusively through books. There was always a balance of the active and the cognitive. An important part of Rog's life was the making of things. His love of crafts began with model making and painting of historical figurines. He learned to sew in order to make costumes for Society for Creative Anachronism tournaments and the Renaissance Faire. He designed a medieval broadsword that was manufactured to his specifications by Fabrica Garido, Spain. He became especially adept at leatherwork, making belts, sheaths for weapons, headgear, and even a fine pair of shoes.

Rog met Kathy Forthun through mutual friends in the Society. They were married November 7, 1981, at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Mateo. They also held a medieval grooms' banquet and Norse wedding for their friends in a dramatic setting on Mount Tamalpais. Though, unhappily, the marriage ended after one year, these wedding festivities were a great success and a highlight of Rog's life. An amateur brewer, he created a variety of beers and ales for the event. Toward the end Rog told us that it was his greatest hope that he had brought some simple happiness and pleasure and feelings of fellowship to peoples' lives through his work. In retrospect, Phil feels that the Norse wedding was the event which catalyzed this desire.

Rog's hobby of brewing beer in his apartment eventually led to his vocation. With only high school chemistry he taught himself what he needed to know to brew beer. From those beginnings in 1982 he became a Master Brewer and a Senior Technical Consultant in brewing and microbrewery design and development. Rog's entry into the microbrewing industry led to significant changes in him. Where before he was a dreamer, his new career brought out a practical, technical side. As a brewer and, later, a designer of microbreweries, Rog had to master aspects of chemistry, physics, industrial design, and drafting . . . even electrical and plumbing skills. During this period he also rediscovered fishing, a sport he had grown up with that now became a passion. As a consultant in the brewing industry he discovered an ability to relate to many people from all walks of life. He made numerous friends and acquaintances all around the country and the world. He was even offered a position on the island-nation of Palau that would have made him a Government Minister! Rog shared his knowledge as a beer stylist and connoisseur freely with his peers and wrote a column on beer styles for the journal BrewingTechniques. Even after he became ill he was able to continue to do some consulting as well as writing his column from his bedroom, with the help of the telephone, computer and fax machine. Sadly his dream to open his own microbrewery/pub went unrealized. However, as his death is becoming known among his peers we are being told he has had a major impact on the industry through his generous sharing of knowledge with others.

Since the discovery of his incurable cancer and progressive incapacity, Rog was attended closely by his immediate family and faithful friends. He found much comfort in having his mother and father in the room with him. He often told me of the importance to him of their presence. During this time he met regularly with Dr. Llewellyn who was able to engage him in meaningful discussion concerning the unsettled issues in his life . . . and God miraculously and graciously restored Rog's faith in Jesus Christ and gave him a sweet and loving spirit-filled nature.

Rog had an amazing ability to go inside of his own imagination and find a place without pain - a place of calmness. In recent months, after all the chemotherapy and radiation were over, Rog's red beard reappeared. He looked more like himself again. Although he was unable to give you a hug, it was easy to remember that he could really give a definitive hug . . . and that he liked to do it, too. As others were conversing and he would appear to be asleep, he would suddenly burst into the flow with a stream of explanation, a note of agreement, an ironic aside. He never lost touch with the world outside of his pain. As I continued to visit, he continued to reach outside of himself. When we'd hit on a topic he enjoyed, he'd say "Let me suggest a few books for you." Like a string of pearls, those visits brought tenderness and joy to me. Lyn said that Rog made her feel special. I, too, felt I had a special connection to Rog - that somehow we understood one another. And you could always count on Rog to tell it like it is.

Rog showed remarkable courage in battling his disease. Never has his strength of will been more apparent to those who love him. During those last nine months he had the chance to evaluate his life, to come to terms with his failures and savor his successes, to reaffirm his love for his family, his friends, and his God. His brother, Phil, concludes, "He was a remarkable person. One of the most remarkable I have known. Think of him now and then, when you're sipping a good glass of beer, when swords flash or muskets fire on television, when you see a hawk soaring high in the sky."

We rejoice that Rog has gone to a better world where there is no pain and no suffering.

He leaves behind to mourn his parents, Roger and Loretta, his brother Phil, his sister-in-law Lyn, his grandmother Katherine, and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. We will always remember his many unique qualities: his intelligence, his wide-ranging curiosity, his loyalty to his friends, his love and tenderness towards his family in these last months, his fortitude and courage in the midst of tremendous pain and suffering, but most of all we will remember him, with love and gratitude that we were privileged to have him with us for a time.