Jack A. Rogers, U.S. Army Brigadier General (Ret.)

Jack A. Rogers, U. S. Army Brigadier General (Ret.), 97, of Lindale, GA, passed away Friday morning, September 19, 2014, at a Rome, GA health care center. He lived a storybook life of adventure. After graduating from high school he joined the merchant marine as a seaman and sailed around the world for the Dollar Steamship Line, carrying passengers and cargo. On return after two years at sea he enrolled in college, graduating in 941with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and boxed on the varsity team. By participating in ROTC, he earned a commission in the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery. Considering that the Coast Artillery had experience at firing on moving targets, when the threat of aerial attack was deemed more likely than an attack by sea, this branch was discontinued and all its personnel put on the insignia of the new Air Defense Artillery. He married Jean Hamilton in the spring of 1942 undeterred by the preacher who told them that a war time marriage would not last. His unit was deployed to England in 1943 in preparation for the invasion of Europe during World War II. Serving with the 463rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion in the 79th Infantry Division, he entered France without a passport in June 1944 over Utah Beach. After the war his career advanced with assignments in both the U.S. and overseas, while his family grew with the addition of two sons. He was promoted to rigadier General in 1968 and retired in 1972 with over 30 years of service, of which 9 years were overseas. In retirement in El Paso, TX, he played a great deal of golf, finding many new friends, and spent many enjoyable years spoiling his grandchildren. He spoke at unit reunions and adopted the children of his friends as brevet grandchildren, while keeping up with extensive correspondence with scores of friends around the world, writing letters in English, French and Italian. In 2005, he was preceded in death by Jean, his wife of 53 years. In 2007 he moved to Georgia at the behest of his children, but claimed to all who would listen that he had been abducted. A long standing cardiac problem worsened in 2010 and he volunteered to participate in an experimental heart valve replacement study, quipping that if he were to be a guinea pig, the scientists should at least provide him with free lettuce. He was exceedingly generous to both his own and brevet grandchildren, providing them with adventure books and exciting stories of his own experiences at sea and in the war. As a person who was devoted to lifelong learning, he subsidized programs that provide free books for needy children. Whenever his children and grandchildren read a book, they will be reminded of him as the person who bequeathed them the love of books and the importance of reading. After 97 years, he left this world a better place than he found it. Survivors include two sons, Dr. Jack (Sara) Rogers, Jr., Lindale, and Dr. Jim (Patricia) Rogers, Charlotte, NC; four grandchildren, Mark (Emily) Rogers, Jane Rogers (Vincent) Argentina, Ben (Kathy) Rogers and Lee (Maggie) Rogers; and four great grandchildren, Oliver and Stella Argentina, Lucy Rogers and Julia Rogers. A graveside service will be held Friday, September 26, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. at the Ft. Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso, TX. The family will receive friends at the Martin Funeral Home, Montana Ave., in El Paso on Thursday from 6 until 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Wounded Warriors project or to a favorite charity .