Roger Bart died on March 30 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. He was 91.

Born in Manhattan, N.Y. in 1926, he enjoyed a life long relationship with the Vineyard. His first trip to the Island, as a very young child, was aboard an overnight steamer from New York with his parents, Max and Clara. After his parents built a summer home on New York avenue, Roger spent every summer there until 1943. He then attended MIT, where he received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering and was part of the Navy V-12 program.

He met his wife, Elaine, at MIT and brought her to the Vineyard in 1945 to meet his parents. Roger and Elaine later honeymooned in June 1949 in a cottage by the hospital. Max and Clara bought a different cottage and when the hospital expanded they moved the cottage to its current location on Lagoon Pond Road.

Roger had a successful career with positions at Exxon, International Minerals and Chemicals, Westvaco, and Guilford Technologies, which culminated with 22 years at Union Camp. While at Union Camp (now International Paper), he rose to be well - recognized in the industry and to the position of corporate technical director.

Although his work moved him and his family to New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut and Georgia, summer vacations on the Vineyard were paramount to Roger. His passions on the Vineyard included sailing, fishing, clamming and gardening. Of these sailing was his greatest joy. Roger and Elaine had a 35 -foot motor sailboat for 15 years and spent nine years cruising between the Vineyard and Beaufort, S.C. with winter trips to Florida. They were known along the Intercoastal Waterway for being friendly and playing bridge.

Roger and Elaine finally gave up sailing for shore activities and settled year-round into their home on Weaver Lane in 1996. Over the years they enjoyed hosting family and friends in the cottage and shared with them the pleasures of the Vineyard.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Elaine, and his brother Peter of Palm Springs, Calif. Roger and Elaine have four children: the late Randall Bart and his wife, Barbara; Pamela Pasternak and her husband, Larry; Thomas Bart and his wife, Julie; and actor Roger Bart. Roger and Elaine have eight grandchildren, Daniel, Matthew and his wife Joanna, Alexandra, Katie, Torii, Helen, Samantha and Eller.