Richard R. Rogers, the Dallas business leader who co-founded Mary Kay Cosmetics with his mother, Mary Kay Ash, died yesterday in Dallas. He was 82.
Rogers was born April 15, 1943, in Bryan, Texas, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve before studying at North Texas State University. He went on to hold multiple leadership roles at Mary Kay, serving at various points as president, CEO, chairman and executive chairman, and is widely credited with helping build the company into a multibillion-dollar global firm. The obituary did not list a cause of death and stated that services will be held at Highland Park United Methodist Church, with details pending, according to WFAA.
A Dallas-built business legacy
Mary Kay remains deeply rooted in the Dallas area, with global headquarters in Addison and a multigenerational leadership role for the Rogers family. A 2022 profile in The Dallas Morning News noted that Richard led the company on two separate occasions and later served as executive chairman, while his son and other relatives took on senior positions. The company’s local investments and international distribution have helped cement a long-term North Texas footprint.
Operations and the Richard R. Rogers center
One of the most visible signs of that footprint is the Richard R. Rogers Manufacturing and R&D Center in Lewisville, commonly known as R3. The multimillion-dollar facility was built to expand Mary Kay’s U.S. manufacturing and research capacity and stands as a major corporate investment that bears Rogers’ name, as detailed by Dallas Innovates.
Beyond beauty: aviation and other ventures
Rogers did not limit his work to the beauty business. He founded and owned the Dallas operation of Million Air, an aviation services company tied to Addison Airport, according to reporting by D Magazine.
Services and family
The obituary lists survivors including his wife, Nancy C. Rogers, along with children, grandchildren and extended family. Services are slated for Highland Park United Methodist Church, whose Dallas campus is listed on its website, and arrangements were described as pending in the obituary, per Highland Park United Methodist Church.
Rogers’ death marks the end of an era for a family that helped shape both Dallas’s corporate landscape and the direct-sales beauty industry. Mary Kay’s continued presence in North Texas, from its Addison headquarters to the R3 manufacturing center in Lewisville, remains a tangible part of that legacy.
