Fred Rogers, the cardigan-wearing neighbor who welcomed children into his home on his daily TV show, died early Thursday.

Rogers, 74, died in his Pittsburgh home after a brief battle with stomach cancer, which was diagnosed in December 2002.

“Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” has been running for 37 years, with 35 of those years at the national level. Rogers retired in December 2000, and the last new show ran in August 2001. Reruns continue to circulate in syndication.

Joan Herwig, associate professor of human development and family studies, talked to both of her classes about Rogers’ death Thursday.

“Every one of the students had watched Fred Rogers as a child,” she said, referring to her senior-level class.

She said, when speaking to her students about Rogers and his show, she observed that it was an important thing in their lives, as many of them remembered the show 17 or 18 years later.

Many ISU students said they remember watching “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” as a child, and expressed their sorrow about Rogers’ death.

“[His death is] sad. I was definitely a Mr. Rogers fan,” said Cicely Schramm, senior in genetics.

“He was a great guy — thanks to him for all the great [times].”

Carol Alexander Phillips, administrator of the child development lab school, said she sent a memo to all teachers and staff at her school.

She listed many of Rogers’ contributions to children and mentioned she was wearing a well-worn red cardigan sweater and sneaker-like shoes in his memory.

“One of the most important things about Mr. Rogers, from my point of view, is that from the beginning Mr. Rogers was able to see the world through the eyes of a child,” Alexander Phillips said.

She recounted a particular episode: “It was [the one with] his broken leg,” she said. “He brought the cameras into the hospital, and talked about how the cast felt and [his] feelings about getting the cast — does it hurt? Is it going to be heavy?”

Herwig said Rogers truly understood children.

“He indeed did capture the essence of childhood and he did know how to work with children that age,” Herwig said.

Alexander Phillips, of the child development lab school, agreed.

“[He knew how to] capture children’s thoughts,” she said. “What a rare ability. He took them into the world of imagination with neighborhood characters.”

Rogers is survived by his wife, Joanne, two sons and two grandsons.

As of press time, funeral plans were incomplete, but there will be a public memorial service announced soon.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.