William Dill Rogers ’48

Bill Rogers cut a wide swath in diplomatic and legal circles. He was an avid fox hunter, a theater buff, and an all-around good guy with a splendid gift for friendship.

He came to us from St. Andrew’s School in Delaware. At Princeton, Bill was a varsity swimmer, worked on the Bric-a-Brac, was a member of Cannon, and graduated with honors in SPIA. He met Suzanne “Suki” Rockford the summer before beginning Yale Law School. They were married in 1949.

Bill hit the ground running, clerking first for federal Judge Charles Clark and then for Supreme Court Justice Stanley Reed. After joining Arnold & Porter, Bill said, “I cut my professional teeth helping in the defense of Owen Lattimore and writing the brief in the Supreme Court test of the loyalty program.”

Bill periodically interrupted his flourishing law practice to serve the government in Republican and Democratic administrations. He had many assignments at the State Department. Gerald Ford appointed him undersecretary for economic affairs; he has been publicly credited for negotiating the Panama Canal Treaty; and he was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Bill died as he had lived — active and enthusiastic. He suffered a heart attack Sept. 22, 2007, while fox hunting on his favorite hunter, Isaiah. To Suki and sons William Jr. and Daniel, the class offers condolences on the death of a noble and affable friend.