What Happened to Roger Mellott?
As regular readers know, Roger Mellott is one of my all-time favorite stress management and personal growth gurus.
The “late” Roger Mellott, that is. Someone asked me what happened to him and how long ago, especially since his booking info is still to be found online.
I was embarrassed to realize I didn’t even remember exactly when it happened. I remember being very sad because I had really hoped to see him live one day.
I had also wanted to write him to tell him how much of a difference his amazing audio course (Stress Skills for Turbulent times) had made in my life.
And then he died. This taught me a lesson about procrastination. Not that I always remember. But just writing this brings it back.
If we want to tell someone how much they mean to us, or how much of a difference they’ve made in our lives, we better do it when we have the chance!
So I went and found some traces of what happened. NASA used to have a very nice memorial page for ihim, but I can’t find it right now. The only things I could find are here:
And here’s what I found on Google:
The first link no longer works, but the second one still does, and it leads to the entry above on NASA’s website.
Roger was pretty much NASA’s house stress management expert, and they had some very nice entries about him when he passed away. His memorial service was on February 12, 2006. So it’s been more than 3 years.
Do I know what happened? No. I would love to know, so if anyone knows more and would like to share, or simply wants to leave a comment in memory of Roger and his work, please do.
Thanks.
Elisabeth
October 8th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Thank you for the information about Roger Mellott. I’ve also been a huge fan since the mid-1980’s when I bought his “Stress Management for Professionals” set. I’ve bought and given away and re-listened to those recordings so many times! I’m wondering if SM for Professionals is a similar or different program than SM in Turbulent times. Do you know? I’ve found that depending on the copyright date, SM for Professionals has varying collections of stories and ones that overlap are told in a different sequence.
October 8th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Here’s the obituary from the Covington LA newpaper
http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/orleans/obits/2006/2006-02.txt
I located the NASA blog, and toward the end it was written that Roger had died in his sleep.
Thanks again for the post.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hi Mary,
they are from different events. Actually, Stress Tips for Turbulent Times is hugely more fun and entertaining than the other one. If you have a chance to grab a copy, get it. You will love it, I can pretty much guarantee it.
It was a live workshop he did for women only, and he was just on a roll. I have listened to that program DOZENS of times and I’m still not tired of it.
In comparison, the regular Stress Management for Professionals is almost boring, though of course it has all the great info in it, plus Roger is great as always. Just in comparison with the Turbulent Times audio, it doesn’t even come close.
You can usually find a copy of it on Amazon.com
I also was lucky enough to nab a copy of one of his videos — the courage to see clearly — which is great too.
Somewhere (I cannot remember where) he said that there was one program he did (that was recorded) where he didn’t think he did it all that well (i.e., not as polished) and yet it turned out to be his most popular program ever. I would bet almost anything that he was talking about the Turbulent Times audio.
Thanks again for writing, and let me know what you think of the audio if you can find it.
Elisabeth
October 15th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Hi Mary,
thanks so much for sending the obit (I had no idea he had 6 kids!).
And also the update on the NASA blog. I guess I must have missed the ending or gotten side-tracked somehow. I never found that bit about him dying in his sleep.
December 19th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Hi, I don’t know if anyone is still interested in information about Roger but if you are I would be happy to share about his life and death. He was my husband. His dying so suddenly and prematurely is a great loss to all who benefitted from his teaching especially his family. I don’t know where this blog originated but one of my daughters found it and sent it to me. You may email me with any other questions. Sincerely, Catherine Mellott
December 27th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
I have his tape “Stress Skills for Turbulent times” for over 10 years and I tell people about them all the time. This is one of the best purchases I have ever made. I am shocked to hear of his passing. I can only assume that his teachings were a benefit to all who listened. Listening to these 4 tapes has helped me to deal with the stress in my life.
My deepest sympathies.
Carol Cox
Thorold, Ontario Canada
January 8th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Dear Catherine,
I wrote back privately but just realized I should have left a reply here as well. My apologies for the delay.
Thank you so much for writing and getting in touch. My deepest sympathies to you. Roger’s teachings have made a huge difference in my life, as you can see at least to some extent from my blog posts.
And I am grateful to be able to tell you that — since I never did get a chance to thank Roger himself for the difference he has made. But clearly he knew how valuable his teaching and his wisdom was to those who knew him and/or his teachings.
With gratitude,
Elisabeth
January 8th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Hi Carol,
thanks for writing. Yes, those four tapes are pure magic! I have bought multiple copies of them over the years, to lend to friends and also as a back-up, in case a tape player eats them. I don’t think anything else I own has gotten this many listens as Roger’s Stress Skills for Turbulent Times.
Hopefully, they’ll get reissued in a digital format sometime soon…
All best,
Elisabeth
February 8th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Dear Catherine,
My deepest sympathies for the loss of your husband. I, too, have had such a pleasure of listening to Roger’s tapes years ago. They made such a lasting impression and I remember so much of what was said. I loved his sense of humor and could relate tremendously to what he was saying.
I just came across this blog as I had for the last few days been thinking how great it would be to be able to listen to “Stress Management for Professionals” in the car.
I am so much looking forward to be able to purchase the tapes on Itunes.
Warm Regards,
Elfya
February 15th, 2010 at 6:24 am
OH NO! I am heartbroken to hear of Roger’s passing! I, too, had my life changed by his Turbulent Times tape series – so much so that I converted it to digital once I owned a Mac sophisticated enough to do such things. I was so afraid I would wear the tape OUT I listened to it so many times! It still holds a prominent place on my iPod.
While I’m shocked to hear of his death, I’m grateful that it was a peaceful passing. I would expect no less from such a fantastic human being.
I’ve felt guilty all these years handing copies of the digital audio I made to friends and family that I felt would benefit from Roger’s words, but I had trouble locating anywhere to send people to pay for it. I wish they would release something on iTunes! Maybe I can write to Catherine Mellott and see what she thinks.
Thank you for providing this information. It is so sad to learn this news, but at least now I have some answers on whatever happened to Roger Mellott.
March 7th, 2010 at 2:12 am
Hi Trayce,
thanks so much for writing. It’s great to connect with others who have also been touched by Roger’s amazing tapes.
And I also hope that they will become available in digital form soon (and yes, I too have a digital version — a friend of mine made it for me so I could listen to him on my iPod — I wore out several sets of cassette tapes! They’re as timely as ever, and the way things are going, we really need his message!
Thanks again, and ll best,
Elisabeth