Roger Grette, 75, a career advisor in the Riccio College of Engineering, died April 15 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. 

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Grette dedicated the past 12 years to supporting engineering students as they prepared for life after leaving the university. By reviewing résumés and cover letters, leading mock interviews and helping students navigate career decisions, he was a trusted guide at one of the most pivotal moments in their lives.

In recognition of his extraordinary contributions to enriching the student experience within the college, Grette was recently named a 2026 recipient of the Dean’s Outstanding Student Support Award.

“Roger is a champion for our students,” Engineering Dean Sanjay Raman wrote about Grette when announcing the award. “His authenticity, encouragement, and mentorship help to create a sense of belonging that extends beyond graduation, establishing lasting connections. The impact of his efforts is reflected in the countless students who seek his advice and the alumni who return to express their gratitude. His legacy is one of inspiration and impact, and we are truly grateful for his unwavering commitment to enriching the lives of those around him.”

“I truly cannot state how much of an impact he has had on our students and the college,” says Todd Butynski, director of the Engineering Career Development and Experiential Learning Center. “It will take years for someone to surpass him in terms of the number of student appointments. The number of students that Roger advised and inspired is unbelievable.”

A remembrance posted on the college’s website notes that “Roger Grette will be fondly remembered as someone who brought people together, creating an environment of support and camaraderie. His talent for making each person feel valued and heard, combined with his radiant positivity, big smile, and that playful gleam in his eye, will leave a cherished legacy.”

Grette, who earned his master’s degree in geography at UMass Amherst, was also married for 42 years to Professor Julie Brigham-Grette, head of the Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences.

A complete obituary for Grette, as published on April 21 in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, can be found below.

A Celebration of Life in honor of Grette’s is planned for the Fall and more details will be shared by the Riccio College of Engineering as they become available. The Roger Grette Scholarship is also being established by the college and those interested in donating to the fund may do so via the UMass Foundation’s MinuteFund project.
 

Roger Olaf Grette, 75, of Amherst, passed away April 15 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Minneapolis, Roger had worked for the past 12 years as a career advisor for the UMass Riccio College of Engineering career center, where he inspired and guided thousands of students. Earlier this month he was recognized with the 2026 Dean's Outstanding Student Support Award for his extraordinary contributions and positive impact on the student experience.

Always a joker with an infectious smile, Roger loved to hand out copies of his own unorthodox "bio" to engineering students, in part to illustrate that a person can have a successful, fulfilling life even if their path is not a straight shot.

And Roger's life clearly had many side journeys, whether he was climbing mountains around the world as a young man, serving as a ranger with the Forest Service in Utah (where he befriended a young Edward Abbey), riding his bicycle throughout the Valley and across the country, or overseeing a Wednesday night hockey game at UMass for more than a decade.

After dropping out of the University of Denver, Roger spent a number of years as a wilderness wanderer, working various jobs in the west and northwest, before returning to school to earn a degree in geology at the University of Colorado in Boulder. As a work-study student there, he was hired by a PhD candidate named Julie Brigham to help in her geochronology laboratory. After assisting on a summer research project in northern Alaska, the two were married, living for a year in Bergen, Norway, and then two years in Edmonton, Alberta.

In 1987, Roger's winding life path brought him to Amherst, where Julie had been hired as a UMass geology professor. Roger continued his own studies, earning a master's degree in geography at UMass. He served as president of the Amherst Montessori School Board, enjoyed helicopter skiing adventures in Colorado and British Columbia, rode the Mount Washington Bicycle Hillclimb four times, and, in 1988, volunteered at the Calgary Winter Olympics on the cross-country skiing course. In 2016, Roger and Dr. Pierre Rouzier rode by bicycle from Oregon to Boston, visiting 50 craft breweries in 68 days.

Roger will be dearly missed by his many biking friends (Rocket Roger's Road Riders-R4), who accompanied him on rides through the mountains of northern Italy, Switzerland, and France. He was a faithful member of the West Mass Brass, the Amherst Community Band, and the Belchertown Community Band. He also played his trumpet for holiday services at Immanuel Lutheran Church of Amherst, where he was a member.

Roger had a strong passion for the UMass Marching Band and served as "benevolent dictator" of the Wednesday Night Hockey League. He was also the unofficial "mayor" of Rosemary and Lilac Streets in North Amherst, always the first to greet new families. He was a season-ticket holder for UMass hockey and football (the latter, mainly to watch the band). He is survived by his wife Julie of 42 years, children Shay and Erik, sister Joan (and Rob) Carne of Burnaby, BC, and brother Paul (and Kim) Grette of Edina, MN.

A Celebration of Life will be held at UMass in the fall.

Gifts in his memory will help establish the Roger Grette Scholarship in the UMass Riccio College of Engineering.

Memorial guestbook can be found at www.douglassfuneral.com.