Mark J. Rogers

Mark J. Rogers, age 61, of Binghamton, went peacefully to the Lord on March 21st, 2014 surrounded by his loving and grateful family. Mark is survived by his wife of 41 years, Carleen; and his most precious treasure, his son Todd and Todd's fiancée, Tiffany Jones. He is survived by his brothers-in-law and his sisters-in-law, David and Roseanne Aycock of Georgetown, DE, Matthew and Sandra Felo of Rochester, NY, Kathleen Rounds, Karen and Richard Felo of Binghamton, NY. He also leaves behind several cugine, nieces and nephews, and his best buddy, Camron Harrison. Mark was listed in the 1973 Outstanding College Athletes of America largely due to his baseball skills. Although he received a baseball scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University in 1973, he was also heavily recruited by SUNY Binghamton and he chose to remain home. He also tried out successfully with the Pittsburgh Pirates that same year. Throughout the following years, Mark made a name for himself with both law enforcement and the Broome County Judicial System when he accepted a job at Probe as an employment counselor. His responsibilities were to help newly released prisoners and parolees secure housing and employment so they could be released into the community. There was no parolee too bad or too bold for Mark. He found most of them housing and at least one job, sometimes many jobs. Mark would appear in court with them when they could not afford an attorney and literally gave them the clothes off his back. One year he purchased 16 winter coats for himself and by the end of winter he was wearing a spring coat because he had given them all away. As quoted by Vi Roselle, the secretary at Probe on any regular work day, "Mark, if you die tomorrow the funeral home is going to need crowd control." He was respected and trusted by everyone he came into contact with. He was honored by Governor Mario Cuomo for his extraordinary success in securing employment for parolees on 6-24-87. Next Mark went on to work for Time Warner where he received many awards for Sales and Customer Service. In 2003 Mark was in the Top 10 Time Warner Sales people in the nation. He retired from Time Warner in 2005 after 15 years of service. During this time Mark decided to try his hand at golf. It was all about perfection and he strived for that with every round he played. And true to form, Mark was also known to give his clubs away if they weren't just what he was looking for. When asked where they were he would always say he loaned them to someone or they were getting new grips, but we knew we would never see them again. Mark brought so much to the table with his humor and life lessons. He loved helping Todd run Goodfellas, which really meant giving lots of free advice and free beer. He could talk to anyone both young and old and was able to diffuse any situation. The first question from most people's mouth when they entered Goodfellas was "when was Mark coming in?" Mark also enjoyed cooking food at the bar on Sunday afternoons. He fed everyone who came through the door and was famous for his meatballs and his sausage and peppers. He was also known to cook a great leg of lamb. He has touched us all in a special way and will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Anyone who came in contact with Mark came away from the table with a smile on their face, a new outlook on life, and money in their pocket. The family will receive friends at the Wm. R. Chase & Son Funeral Home, 737 Chenango St., Port Dickinson on Tuesday, March 25th, from 4 to 7 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be offered at Saint Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday, March 26th, at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Riverhurst Cemetery, Main Street in Endwell. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Mark J. Rogers to the Canine Unit of the New York State Police. Checks should be made payable to the NYSTF, 3 Airport Park Blvd., Latham, NY 12110. Please indicate "Canine" in the memo section. All donations are tax deductible.