James Larson Rogers

James Larson Rogers (Jim), of Henderson, Nevada, loved flying so much he brought the cockpit home. He rigged up a flight simulator in his house and invited other pilots over to “train” on it—sessions that produced equal parts belly laughs and “are we sure this thing is supposed to do this?” squeals. When he wasn’t making turbulence in the living room, he was under a hood in the driveway. If it had four wheels, Jim could fix it—usually faster than you could find the right socket. Family lore says he could diagnose a rattle from across the street and had your car running before you finished saying “it’s making a weird noise.”

He served his country in the U.S. Army, rising to sergeant and earning an honorable discharge. After his service, he turned that childhood fascination with airplanes into a career—flying for several airlines and ultimately serving as a captain with Spirit Airlines. On snow days, he traded runways for ridgelines, snowmobiling with his buddies in Colorado; when the snow melted, he took the Jeeps out for long days of four-wheeling with his groups across Colorado and Nevada. If a friend got stuck in snow or sand, James was the first one there—grinning, winch ready.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Carol Rogers. He is survived by his parent William and Sally Rogers, his children, Alicia Compoz and Joshua Osckel; his step-daughter, Cecily Sopris; and his grandchildren, Jose Arenas, Silas Angelo, Charles Krus, Michael Krus, Mark Sopris, Nilayah Tennyson, and Heavenly Montoya. He is also survived by his sisters, Teri Shiley (Scott Shiley) and Jayna Rogers; his nephew Ryan Rogers (Tatiana) and their children; his nephew Jack Shiley; and his niece Kenzie Danaher (Cody Danaher).

A celebration of life will be held at Palm Eastern Mortuary on Wednesday, September 24th, 2025. In lieu of flowers, please honor Jim by making a donation to the cholangiocarcinoma research foundation at https://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/donate/ or taking a friend for a ride (plane, Jeep, or otherwise), or helping someone fix the thing that “shouldn’t be making that sound.”