James Walter Rogers

Former Henry County Sheriff James Walter Rogers, 93, of Collinsville passed away on Thursday, January 24, 2019. He was born in Stokes County, N.C. on May 25, 1925 to Walter and Susan Bannie Hill Rogers. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his very devoted and loving wife of 64 years, Vera Lou Cox Rogers; three sisters, Ruth Wood, Dorothy Bateman, and Vera Dollarhite; three brothers, Joe Rogers Sr., Glen Rogers, and Paul Rogers. He is survived by his daughter Jan Rogers; son, Mike Rogers and his wife Jackie; grandchildren, Dr. James Bradley Rogers and Christie Rogers. He is also survived by a brother, Morris Rogers and his wife Janene; sister-in-law Virginia Rogers; and many beloved nieces and nephews. Rogers was a very loving husband, father, grandfather and brother, whose life was dedicated to the service of others. He proudly served his country during 21 years of service with the United States Marine Corps. He was a decorated veteran of WWII and the Korean Conflict where he fought in four major battles, including the Chosin Reservoir battle where temperatures reached 35 below zero. In addition to receiving three Presidential Citations, he was awarded many medals including the Bronze Star with Combat V and the Purple Heart for his valorous actions when he was wounded by machine gun fire during the Korean War. Rogers’ outstanding marksmanship skills earned him highly coveted positions on the Marine Corps Competition Rifle Team, as well as the Competition Pistol Team. In addition to winning over 200 trophies, he also won two gold medals and one silver during inter-service and divisional rifle competitions. Immediately following his retirement from the Marine Corps in 1964 Rogers joined the Henry County Sheriff’s Department when there were only 4 other deputies and a Sheriff assigned to Henry County. Rogers worked as a road deputy, investigator and later established the department’s first records system, which was highly praised by State and Federal officials. He was elected Sheriff in November of 1979 and completed three four-year terms until retiring on December 31, 1991. The Rogers family will be forever grateful to all of the many loyal employees and citizens who supported him and the Department. Rogers was very active in local historical, civic and veterans groups. He served as a member of the Martinsville and Henry County Veteran’s Honor Guard, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 52, American Legion Post 42, Sons of the American Revolution and the Marine Corps League Edward W. Richardson Detachment. In 1997 he was selected Veteran of the Year among all local veteran organizations. In 2009 he was honored as Henry County’s Veteran of the Year. Rogers was a Master Mason of the Piedmont Masonic Lodge No 152. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Fieldale Collinsville Rescue Squad for 16 years. He was also a long- time member of Stone Memorial Christian Church where he served as a deacon and later was a charter member of Traditional Christian Church. Rogers was also an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed gardening, hunting and fishing. Our family wishes to acknowledge the kind, compassionate and excellent care provided in the past by Dr. James Isernia, Dr. Scott Oneil, Dr. Samuel Hurt, Dr. Andrew Gerhken, Dr. James Muehleck and retired Surgeon Dr. David Lewis. The family extends deep appreciation for the excellent care he received from the staff at SOVAH Hospital, Stanleytown Health Care, and SOVAH Hospice, especially nurse Mallory Knight. We also appreciate the caregiver services provided by Sammy Shively, Fuzzy Melton, Sherita Stanley and Janette Jackson. Visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at Stone Memorial Christian Church. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at the Church with the Reverend Lawrence Harris, Reverend Don Pruitt and Reverend Tim Mills officiating. Interment will follow in Roselawn Burial Park with military honors by the United States Marine Corps and Martinsville-Henry County Veterans Honor Guard. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Martinsville Henry County Veterans Honor Guard, P.O. Box 1002, Collinsville, VA 24078 or the Henry County Sheriff’s Department Benevolent Fund, 3250 Kings Mtn. Road, Martinsville, VA 24112.