Dr. Rodger C. Dickinson was born in Horatio, Arkansas on May 30, 1910, graduated from Horatio High School, the University of Arkansas, where he received a B.S. Degree; then later, after working for Shell Oil Company, returned to medical school in Little Rock.
He served his residency in Mercy Hospital in New Orleans before entering the Army. After his discharge from the Army, he practiced two years in Pasadena, Texas. He later joined his brother, Dr. Bill, and his father, R.C., to establish a clinic and hospital in De Queen, later building a nursing home also.