1919 - 2005
Researcher
From "Free Thought Today"
Freethought Today is sorry to report the death of longtime Life Member Laura Elizabeth Lehtinen Rogan, 86, a nationally-known educator, of Illinois, on Dec. 14, 2005. Laura is survived by her husband, Marvin, also a Life Member. They were together for 42 years.
Laura's mother used to tell people, "I'm here because I missed the Titanic!" Nursing a cold and aware that passing through Ellis Island immigration hinged on good health, Laura's mother delayed her voyage and came on a later ship, the Carpathia, ironically one of the rescue vessels of the Titanic.
Laura received her B.S. in special education from Wayne State University in Detroit, her M.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in psychology from Northwestern University.
She taught an experimental class for exogenous mentally-handicapped children in the research department at Wayne County Training School, Northville, Mich. Those experiences contributed to her book, Psychopathology and Education of the Brain-Injured Child.
With another doctor, she cofounded the Cove School in 1947, and served as its clinical director until 1984. The Cove School's philosophy was to never give up on teaching an individual child. She coauthored The Other Child, a book for parents, with Richard S. Lewis and Dr. Alfred Strauss.
Laura was instrumental in assisting several school districts in establishing programs for learning disabled students. She directed and coauthored The Cove School Phonics Workbook Series, beginning reading material widely used for students with learning disabilities and for beginning readers in regular classes.
At the Cove Foundation she also directed and developed instructional materials, and conducted research in learning disabilities, and educated professionals and parents.
Laura and Marvin had attended several of the Foundation's past national conventions.
"Laura was a lifelong atheist, as were her parents of Finnish descent," Marvin writes.
Laura suffered from declining health and failing vision in the past two years while at a nursing home, and died of a pneumococcus infection. Her cremated remains were scattered at sea.
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