Sarah Carmen Rogers

Sarah Carmen Clements Rogers went home to her Lord on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026. She was born on February 19th, 1947 to James Kurtis and Jonnie Thomasson Clements at Archbold Hospital in Thomasville, Georgia. She was brought home to Foshalee Plantation on the Florida-Georgia Line, where her father was employed. Soon thereafter, the family moved across the woods to Sunny Hill Plantation near Miccosukee, Florida. Carmen, her three sisters, and other children of all the Red Hills plantations could not begin to tell you the joy they felt growing up in those environments: playing outdoors in piney woods and hardwoods, with fishing ponds, cane grindings, mayhaw gatherings and such, all combined with glimpses of the sophistication of other worlds.

In Carmen's childhood years, the Miccosukee Community was a hub of activity for local families: Farm Bureau, 4-H, Home Demonstration Club, and all the things happening at church and the Miccosukee School. In Carmen's childhood her family attended Miccosukee Methodist Church, and when she was 14, the Clements family began years spent at First Presbyterian Church in Thomasville. Both churches played significant roles in establishing her faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Carmen returned to Miccosukee Methodist in her early 30’s, and as a member, became volunteer pianist for 35 years.

Carmen spent her school days at Miccosukee School, Elizabeth Cobb Jr. High, and Leon High School, before moving on to Florida State University.

She excelled in music and languages (Latin and French). She studied piano from early childhood, and by her college years had become a classically trained pianist under the tutelage of Norma Mastrogiacomo.

Carmen earned her B.A. in Secondary English Education, but it was her minor in French that paved the way for her long and rewarding career as (the new) Lincoln High's first French teacher, a post she held for 27 of her 30 years in teaching. "Madame Rogers" was loved by her students, whose lives she influenced academically, socially, and spiritually. She twice took students to Paris, often cooked gourmet recipes for classroom parties, and taught strong skills in the tried-and-true blackboard and lecture methods.

All the while, Carmen was growing in Christ. She became a Bible scholar, dedicating herself to knowledge of accurate translations of His Word, and zealously passing on what she learned. She was a prayer warrior for the lives of friends, family, and students and faculty alike, and held morning prayer groups for students for several of her teaching years. God showed her a harvest in answered petitions.

Though some knew Carmen for her deep knowledge of the Bible and her great faith, many knew her for her incredible talent displayed on the piano. Carmen gave God the glory for that gift, and so did those who listened and received ministry as she played. Besides her years as Miccosukee Methodist pianist, she served in that capacity for seven years at McCall’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Hatch Bend, FL, where her husband, Pastor Dave Rogers, ministered.

Psalm 113:9 tells us, “He makes the barren woman …to be the joyful mother of children.” So it was with Carmen. Having no children of her own, she loved and carried joys and sorrows as a parent would for her sisters' children, and had the full heart of a grandmother for those children's children.

If she came across leisure time, she created fabulous recipes which took the “wild” out of game, made and decorated cakes for loved ones and friends, explored nature in every way, and wrote short essays and humorous commentaries for friends and family. There were years she was a runner, and was an early member of Gulf Winds Track Club, where she assisted her husband with 31 races during those active stages of life.

Lastly, Carmen was a devoted wife to her husband, Pastor David Rogers. She was there for him in every way. She encouraged and assisted him in his ministry in the Methodist Church, and helped him to follow his lifelong dreams in track, hunting, and aviation.

Carmen is preceded in death by her parents, her sister Susan Clements, her nephew Benjamin Inman, her brother-in-law George Thomson, and countless other loved ones.

She is survived by her husband Pastor David Rogers, sisters Alice Thomson and Martha Inman (Benjie), nephew Voight Thomson, niece Meghan Inman Saunders, great-nieces Lizzie, Sarah, and Caroline Saunders, and great-nephews Levi and Noah Inman and their sister, Annie, and sister-in-law Patricia Rogers.

A service will be held at Miccosukee Methodist Church on Friday, April 10, 2026, at 12:00 noon, with interment at the church cemetery. A covered dish luncheon will follow in the fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Big Bend Hospice, who provided Carmen with wonderful care in the last weeks of life.