Lawrence Ogden

It is good to see that professor Ogden lived to an old age and had the opportunity to enjoy his retirement.

I was a student of his in the last Geology of Construction Class he taught in 1989. He was a very wise man with plenty of experience and knowledge...

It was sad that he was pretty much forced into retirement at age 70 because of state age limitations. Our class was small; after hearing the news of his pending retirement we decided to throw him a retirement party. So after the final exam, I brought in a couple of bottles of champagne and plastic glasses... when the last student finished the exam we broke out the bubbly- there was a moment of surprise, and probably a tear in the corner of his eye. We toasted his accomplishments and thanked him for sharing his knowledge and experiences with us.

Exam grades were going to be posted in a couple days on his office door. When we went back to check, he wrote on the page-
"Everyone in the class passed the exam with an A, thanks to the extra credit."

Thank you professor Ogden, you were a part of the greatest generation. May the knowledge and wisdom you passed on continue to be handed down, and may it benefit many future generations.

Larry was largely responsible for hiring me to become a member of the Georaphy and Geology Dept at EMU in 1965. For every one of the 24 years we worked to together I appreciated having him as a colleague and thought of him as my mentor in the best sense of the word. Hardly a day went by that he didn't in someway help me to be a better teacher. I thought of Larry and Irene not only as best friends but also as two of the the best and most decent people I've ever known. I can't begin to find words that will say how much I'll miss them.