Jesse Lafayette “Just J.L.” Rogers Jr, age 82 of Tillman’s Corner/Mobile, Alabama passed from this stage of life into the next (or croaked as he would jokingly say) during the early hours of Friday, April 17, 2020 in a local Mobile hospital. He was preceded in death by his little brother Cleve, his father Jesse L. Rogers Sr., his mother Elizabeth B. Rogers and assorted friends, relatives and pets far too numerous to list. He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Deanie Rogers, three children, and their spouses, James Cleveland Rogers Sr. and Charlotte, Marty Rogers and Barbara, Pamela Hassell and John, seven grandchildren, Jessica and Anthony, Jimmy, Brittany, D.J. and Becky, Katie and Billy , Chad and Liz, and Rev. Nicholas, seven great grandchildren, Noah, Emma, Ellie, A.J., Katelyn, Easton and Addison as well as various in-laws, outlaws and again, an unbelievably large number of family and friends who will miss him immensely for various and sundry reasons.
“J.L.” was born August 28, 1937, in a little house in downtown Mobile. As one would expect, he had many accomplishments across his 82 years, but none were ever as important to him as his family. He loved to talk and would to anyone who would listen about his family, people he had met and things he had seen or done. He was a consummate storyteller, and while many stories were repeated, they always captured the audience as he spun his tales.
In his youth, “J.L.” had a bit of a temper which only added to the incredible stories he told. Later in life, however, he had often been heard saying that “a piece of metal was worthless without a little temper and so are people.” He tried to join the “regular army” as he put it, during the Vietnam War. His devotion to freedom and duty was well known to all. He was, unfortunately, refused due to the flat feet he was born with and a perforated eardrum which he earned as a member of a Howitzer gun crew in the National Guard. This haunted him for many years as a personal failure, though no one else saw it that way. He wanted to be there for his friends, many of which didn’t make it back. However, who is to say that the family he loved so much would have been the same if he had gone to war?
“J.L” took machine shop in trade school so he could qualify for a job at Teledyne Continental Motors Corporation. He retired after a long 24 years, most of which was spent as a first-class machinist and union shop steward. “J.L.” was a staunch conservative and believed in, campaigned for and voted religiously to keep America free from those ideologies which he believed would be detrimental to it. He often said he did this to protect his children and grandchildren from evil.
At various times during his long and colorful life he donated gallons of blood, was a very active amateur radio operator, a small time race car driver, a willing and accomplished shade tree mechanic, and sang in numerous church choirs, the car and wherever he took the notion. He could make a joke come to life in almost any situation (much to the dismay of some), he caught freezers full of fish, killed many whitetail deer (and not a few squirrels), watched the news and old westerns with the volume turned way up, became a 32nd degree Mason, was a member of the Scottish rite and was, to his great joy, most recently invited to be a deacon at First Baptist Church of Tillman’s Corner. He would speak often of the widows he would visit and the men and women he spoke with in the recovery program, because of the opportunity entrusted to him by his Lord and Savior and the members of FBC Tillman’s corner. His was a life of service to others through which many have been blessed, much as he has been blessed. He will be and is already missed by many.
A small private ceremony will be held prior to and at the graveside in compliance with social distancing due to the pandemic. The family is asking for donations to First Baptist Church of Tillman’s Corner in lieu of flowers. Address for donations is 5660 Three Notch Road, Mobile, AL 36619.
