Robert J. Rodgers was born August 25, 1950 in Kansas City, Kansas. He is the son of Wilbert J. Rodgers and Mildred C. Rodgers. He attended St. Patrick's Catholic School, Arrowhead Junior High School, and Washington High School, all of which are in Kansas City, KS.

In June of 1969 Rodgers entered the Air Force and went to basic at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. He was stationed at Kunsan Air Force Base in South Korea from January of 1971 to February of 1972. Then he was stationed at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York from February 1972 to January 1973. He was released from Air Force in January of 1973.

From January of 1973 to December of 1975 he attended University of Kansas and obtained a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He worked in Kansas City, Missouri and took night classes from K.U. to earn a M.S. in Civil Engineering from January 1976 to August 1977. From August 1977 to May 1978 he returned to K.U. to finish his M.S. From 1978 to 1981 he worked in Johnson County, KS. From 1981 to 1982 he was job hunting in Denver. From 1982 to 1984 he returned to K.U. to get an M.S. in Computer Science. From March 1984 to March 1985 he worked for IBM in Rochester, MN. He then moved to Denver and was employed til May 1987. He was then unemployed in Denver from May 1987 to September 1988. He then moved back to Kansas City, Kansas where he currently resides.