Founder of Gathering 4 Gardner
Gathering 4 Gardner (G4G) was envisioned by Thomas M. Rodgers to bring together magicians, mathematicians, skeptics, philosophers, puzzle enthusiasts, and the general public, all united by a shared enthusiasm for the work of Martin Gardner.
Martin Gardner’s influence was so broad that a large percentage of his fans had only infrequent contact with each other. Tom Rodgers conceived the idea of hosting a weekend gathering in honor of Gardner to bring some of these people together.
In 2012, Tom Rodgers passed away just after the G4G10 conference. His dedication to Gathering 4 Gardner and promoting Martin Gardner’s legacy will be greatly missed.
Tributes to Tom Rodgers – by Kate Jones
This polymath/puzzler sublime
Organized G4G’s lasting through time.
Meetings of wonderful minds,
Rarest from fields of all kinds —
Overachievers’ directive is prime.
Daring, dramatic, eccentric and kind,
Generous genius, with a steel trap mind,
Ever a strong inspiration,
Reaching the best in each nation,
So Thomas, like Martin, left us treasures to find.
– Kate Jones
Letter from the Rodgers Family
Thomas Malin Rodgers, Jr (1943 – 2012)
Dearest Friends and Family,
Tuesday 10 April 2012 at 6:12pm ET, Thomas Malin Rodgers Jr. passed away after a valiant struggle with cancer. He fought like a bear till the very end. We, the family, would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and help during his last days.
Per Tom’s request there will be no funeral service or burial. He is to be cremated with his ashes distributed amongst his family. Please feel free to celebrate Tom’s life in your own way as no formal event will occur.
In lieu of flowers please consider donating to Tom’s passion, The Gathering 4 Gardner foundation. Please send checks payable to
Gathering 4 Gardner, Incto the address below.
The Gathering 4 Gardner, Inc
Attn: Tom Rodgers Memoriam
2885 Sanford Ave SW #39552
Grandville, MI 49418
Please forward this message along as you see fit. Tom had a diversity of friends and interests. If we missed someone, we apologize.
Thank You,
The Rodgers Family
Photos below provided by Peter Knoppers:
As if it’s now, I still remember that 1 AM phone call when our Tom Rodgers called me for the first time to invite me to attend G4G7 conference in 2006.
He called several times that week in order to persuade me to attend.He’d say, “Roger Penrose will be there, Michele Emmer will be there, and Kate Jones, and many others…”
When he finally convinced me, he said, “Bring your Möbius strip with Penrose tiles on it with you. Oh, and an extra bag – for the exchange gifts.”
Tom made all the arrangements needed that I arrived there safely and be his guest.
He was so immensely kind to me, so caring… such a generous genius noble soul he was.
When I arrived at the hotel lobby, he would bring people over to me in his care that I wouldn’t feel alone, I guess; our friends like Sandro Del Prete, Istvan Orosz, and others and he was surprised we all knew each other.
Every time we passed one another at the conference site he’d ask, “Is everything OK?”
I felt so privileged when he was proudly showing to me his collection of precious rare dictionaries at his (and Sarah’s) beautiful residence and his stunning puzzle collection.
And I felt honored he added my artworks to his art collection.
My Möbius strip I decorated with Penrose tiles was, however, taken home by the awesome Marc Pelletier, for his Museum, he said.
When I asked Tom who recommended me, he instantly replied, “Jay Kappraff.” When a day later I thanked Jay for that, Jay didn’t have any recollection of such an endorsement. Hm… Yet that didn’t stop him from taking me out for lunch five minutes later. Janusz Kapusta, the multi-talented artist and inventor of K-dron, was making us company..
Our beloved Tom made sure I would go home with an extra bag of magical gifts and meet many new wonderful, immensely kind and generous friends, at that, and at the following conferences.
He would send me an email, two, or more almost every day – with some content of our mutual interest, like optical illusions, geometry, puzzles, artworks or articles. Even when he was very sick in 2012, still.
I miss you, dear Tom, and like to imagine that right now perhaps you are inventing some puzzles or tessellations together with Martin, Ivan, with Marc and Elwyn, or humorously diagonalizing with our dear Raymond… and creating more magic… Thank you for it. <3
– Matjuška Teja Krašek
Photos below provided by Peter Knoppers:
