Mourning the Loss of a Well-Revered Herpetologist

Widely known Herpetologist Roger A. Repp has sadly passed away, leaving a legacy of important herptile research in the Arizona desert area.

Starting Off Young

At the honest age of 4, Roger caught his first reptile and ignited his interest in herptiles. After leaving highschool, his ambition was to make a living out of being a Herpetologist and was given solid advice to find a trade by the then curator of reptiles at Brookfield Zoo - Ray Pawley.

Much-Loved Herpetologist Roger A. Repp in the Field of Study

It might not of been related to herptiles but it would be a good money-maker and fall-back plan if all else failed. The course he took, at the Chicago Tool and Die Institute in 1977, was a10,000 hour, around 5 years, apprenticeship. Since then his finances and passion for our scuttling scaly friends grew and, after putting down the jigs and fixtures, he moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1981.

Cementing a Place in History

He joined the Tucson Herpetological Society in1990 and was promoted to Treasurer in 1991. With a few year under his belt, he was honoured with The Jarchow Conservation Award in 1994. On the THS website it states that "the Jarchow Conservation Award (JCA)" was established "in July 1992 to honour individuals or organisations for their service to the conservation of the amphibians and reptiles of the deserts of North America".

His last important position within this society was as chairman. PHHBrown wrote about Roger in 2020 on the THS website : "He maintained consistent field documentation of all snakes, several lizard species, and all turtles encountered in Arizona from 1989 through 1999, and broadened that dataset to include all herps encountered since the year 2000.

In March of 2001, he joined forces with Dr. Gordon Schuett to begin a 15-year long radio telemetry study on four species of rattlesnake, as well as Gila Monsters (Heloderma suspectum). He has authored or coauthored over 20 peer review papers, and has published over 100 herp-related articles in various herp society newsletters.

He currently publishes a monthly column in the Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society, and is enjoying his third year of retirement doing what he loves most."

No doubt his recent passing will resonate for all involved in this profession. One of his friends and colleague wrote on Facebook: "I am in utter grief and beyond words. I lost one of my best friends and colleagues yesterday. Roger A. Repp. He was an extraordinary human being. RIP my dear friend."

Bibliography

phhbrown (2020). February 19: Roger A. Repp – Wild About Gila Monsters: Old Stuff, New Stuff, Good Stuff – Tucson Herpetological Society. [online] Tucsonherpsociety.org. Available at: https://tucsonherpsociety.org/2020/02/07/february-19-roger-a-repp-wild-about-gila-monsters-old-stuff-new-stuff-good-stuff/ [Accessed 26 Nov. 2025].