James McDonald Rominger, professor emeritus of botany, died Oct. 30, 2015. He was 87.
Dr. Rominger was born May 19, 1928, in Charleston, Ill. He was the youngest of three children of Maurice and Mary McDonald Rominger. He attended grade school and high school on the campus of Eastern Illinois University and was the captain of the high school basketball team in 1945. He received his bachelor’s degree in botany from Eastern Illinois University in 1950.
Dr. Rominger served in the Illinois National Guard from 1945-1951 and in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1952-1954 where he was stationed in Tokyo with the Signal Corps. After returning to the United States, Dr. Rominger received a master’s degree in biology from the University of New Mexico in 1955 and a Ph.D. in botany from the University of Illinois in 1959.
Before joining the faculty at NAU in 1963, Dr. Rominger taught biology and botany at Jacksonville University in Florida, Black Hills State College in South Dakota and Western State College in Colorado. He also was an assistant basketball coach during his time at Jacksonville University.
Dr. Rominger was an enormously popular botany professor at NAU from 1963-1990 and the curator of the Deaver Herbarium. He was chosen by the students as the 1977 NAU Homecoming Dedicatee, a tradition that dates back to 1936. His former students also endowed a botany scholarship at NAU in his honor shortly after his retirement.
Dr. Rominger is survived by his wife of 63 years, Redonda; sons Dr. Eric M. Rominger of Santa Fe, N.M., McDonald E. Rominger, J.D. (Jan) of Flagstaff and James H. Rominger (Natalie) of Pinetop, Ariz.; grandchildren Zachary Rominger (Melissa), Nicole McCullough (Jay), Jackson Rominger and Ryder Rominger; and great-grandchildren Kyler Rominger, Bailey Rominger, Blake Rominger, Cody McCullough and Meilani McCullough. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Joan Gwin of Charleston, Ill., and Dorothy Morse of Phoenix.
Services for Dr. Rominger will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11, at the Flagstaff Federated Community Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dr. James M. Rominger Botany Scholarship Fund/NAU Foundation (Fund Number 01332) P.O. Box 4094 Flagstaff, AZ 86011.
Dear Ms. Rominger and family,
I am creating a professional bio to submit to NAU alumni association as an obituary for my husband, Dennis Jaques, and in the process of doing that, I discovered this news of your husband’s death. Dennis earned his Bachelor of Science degree at NAU in 1970. During that time, he worked with Dr. Rominger, who was a great encouragement to Dennis in his career. Dennis was a great plant collector and loved working the Deaver Herbarium with your husband. It’s interesting that they both died within a month of each other. Dennis died unexpectedly of a stroke at the age of 67 on November 20th. His memorial service was December 13. I don’t think Dennis knew of his friend’s death at the time he died, but perhaps they are spending time together in heaven right now. Again, your husband was a great inspiration to Dennis. He spoke of him often with affection and appreciation. I know how hard it is to say good-bye to a spouse who has been a part of your life for so long, but I hope it helps a little to know that he left a valuable legacy in the lives of his students. Dennis went on to develop a career in environmental assessment that has made a difference in the ecology of Western North America. Blessings on you as you learn to go on in your new stage of life.
Hi, Redonda……..
Thanks for sharing the much appreciated info about Jim. God bless his eternal victories in Christ Jesus, our common Lord and Savior. Over and over again my wife,Dorothy,and I review our references to Jim, my closest classmate, neighbor and friend through our first grade to sophomore year in high school at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. God comfort you in your stinging loss with the assurance of the Resurrection! Our love, Dorothy and Vic (Connie)
Constien