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When was the last time someone asked you to be his neighbor … and really and truly meant it? Well, I can tell you exactly when that was and the place in which it happened. It was February 27, 2003 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the day a light went out all over the world.

The day my dear Fred Rogers died.

Mr. Rogers had the ability to peer through the television screen, straight into my eyes. And, boy, did I ever want to be his neighbor. His Mr. Roger’s magic made me feel exquisitely special. I could barely believe it, but just imagine, he wanted me—ME!—to be HIS friend. And the truly beautiful thing was that virtually every child who was also watching that program felt as singularly unique and wonderful as I did.

Fred McFeely Rogers didn’t care about my faults, my slights, my failings. He saw through them all to focus on my unmatched distinctiveness. His heart saw into the heart of me; into that shadowed, guarded place where no other person had ever ventured. Furthermore he was the master of a remarkable key with which he could open up the inside of me to things I didn’t even know about myself.

Mr. Roger’s story began on March 20, 1928 when he was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Years later he would become quite possibly America’s most beloved television host. He, as well, became a minister and writer. And lucky us! We were the beneficiaries of his wisdom.

Fred’s first job began in 1951 when, after graduating from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, he started to work for NBC in New York City. From there he moved on to the public television station WQED in Pittsburgh. Then in 1954 he began a job which would turn out to be a seven-year run of writing, producing and serving as a puppeteer for The Children’s Corner. Thirty episodes of this program were broadcast on NBC from 1955-56.

But that wasn’t enough for the ambitious Fred Rogers. Six years later, in 1962, he earned a divinity degree from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Shortly thereafter he was ordained by the United Presbyterian Church in the USA.

Surprisingly, the Presbyterians didn’t want him behind a pulpit. Instead, they wanted him in front of a TV camera. With that encouragement, Fred made his on-camera debut in 1963 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The program was called Misterogers.

In 1966, he returned to WQED where he renamed his program, Misterogers’ Neighborhood. It was such a success that in only two short years the program was being distributed nationally by National Educational Television. Following this, in 1968, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) picked up the program and changed the name to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Who could forget the way our friendly neighbor began each show. The door would open and through it he came with a smile that lit up the television screen. Then straightaway he headed for a closet where he kept his trademark cardigan sweater. Changing into it, he would—in a quiet, gentle, oh-so-sweet voice—sing the show’s theme song, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” It was magnetizing. We kids were hooked; glued to the screen. Within moments the entire TV audience (all ages, all genders, all races) was drawn in, eager and ready to be his special neighbor.

Next came the topic of the day: have you ever felt sad?, sometimes do you get angry?, do people bully you?, are you a bully?, are you ever afraid?, what is disrupting your life? You didn’t have to be a child to experience all or any of them. In the process of exploring each feeling, he taught us how to get along with others, how to feel good about ourselves and how to cope with fear.

Besides producing each show, writing the scripts for each show and serving as the host and puppeteer for each show, Mr. Rogers wrote approximately two hundred songs (including the theme song). Roughly one thousand episodes were broadcast between 1968-2001.

The last original episode was taped in December 2000. It was broadcast in August. But following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Rogers once again appeared on camera to record public service announcements aimed at helping parents cope with the tragedy.

Mr. Rogers was honored with numerous awards: four Daytime Emmy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award (1997) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. Additionally, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. added one of his red cardigans to its collection of Americana. In 2019, Rogers was also the subject of the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor starring Tom Hanks who did a masterful job of portraying the beloved Mr. Rogers. If you haven’t seen it, beg, borrow or steal a copy. It will change your life.

Fred’s last project was an animated series called Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. It debuted on PBS in 2012. The show featured the characters that had become popular on his television programs. The purpose behind the show was to introduce a new generation of viewers to Roger’s unique and compelling social and emotional curriculum.

And contrary to some people saying so, he never served in the U.S. military.

It is stunning to realize the impact this one humble gentleman had on all those who came to know him. He wasn’t only a TV personality, he was our friend, our confidant, our teacher. Oh, Mr. Rogers, where are you now that we so desperately need you?