Rites are held for Rogers, 81
June 6, 1923-September 14, 2004
Time, indeed, waits for no man. The time came last week for a man who filled his time to the brim.
Funeral services were held Friday, September 17, 2004, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church for longtime Tekamah businessman Norm Rogers. He died Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at Oakland Memorial Hospital of kidney failure, following a brief illness.
Rogers, 81 maintained his zeal for the community and the drive to complete the projects he saw as important for the place he called home.
Rogers was remembered as having a true love for people. Pastor Jane Boeschen said people were remembering their relationships with Rogers because relationships were so important to him.
The Rogers house, she said "seemed to be the place where all the kids played." Sunday afternoons were filled with family, playing cards and other games.
Norman Stillman Rogers was born June 6, 1923 to Charles A. and Irene P (Stillman) Rogers at Rosalie, Nebraska. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Decatur.
Rogers graduated from Decatur High School in 1941, then joined his family in California. They had moved there to work at Firestone Tire and Rubber in support of the war effort. In January 1943 Rogers made the war effort more personal by joining the Army Air Corps. He served in the Asiatic Pacific, stationed at Fairbanks, Alaska, before being discharged November 25, 1945.
Displaying the ambition that marked his professional life, Rogers went into business for himself, back in Burt County. Two weeks later, he purchased the Hilltop Cafe and Station in Oakland December 8, 1945.
While in Oakland, he met Ferne Johnson and they were married August 5, 1946. After living in California, West Point, Fremont and Wahoo, they settled in Tekamah in 1954 and raised two children, Linda Clarene and Rex Norman. Rogers was in the real estate and auction business until the time of his death.
Rogers also was very active in civic affairs. He was a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Oakland Golf Club and served as president of Tekamah Chamber of Commerce and Tekamah Industrial Development Corp.
Among his business interests in the early 1970s was a restaurant and social hall across the street from the schoolhouse, known as the Tiger Den. Eulogist Randy Hart, remembered the hot spot as the most popular place in town for both the teenagers who congregated there and the older set. "I understand there may have been a little wagering on a football game", Hart said, "especially the Oakland-Craig game".
In the political arena, Rogers was elected to Tekamah-Herman Board of Education, serving as its president, and was elected to Tekamah City Council and Burt County Board of Supervisors, running for that post as recently as 2002.
Rogers also left his mark on the growth of his adopted home town. He was instrumental in developing the Summit Heights and Gammel Addition residential areas, the Norman Park Apartments and Rogers Regency in the late 1960s. Rogers spearheaded a drive to bring a Fontenelle Homes mobile home factory in Tekamah. Rogers also was an Ambassador in Industrial Development for the state of Nebraska.
Preceding him in death were his wife, Ferne, his parents and brothers Perry and Doyle and a brother-in-law, Elbert Sandquist.
He is survived by his daughter, Linda and her husband, Robert Schnell; son Rex and his wife, Mary; five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, his brother Charles V. Rogers and his wife, Betty of Oakland, sisters-in-law Millie Sandquist of Oakland, Orma Rogers of Eldon, Mo, and Elaine Chute of California, and a host of other relatives and friends.
Casket bearers were Steve Stillman, Chuck Rogers Jr., Perry Rogers, Greg Ray, Gordon Bryant, III, and Dennis Jurgens. Honorary bearers were his grandchildren, Robert and Nick Schnell, Jolene Von Seggern, Jason and Sarah Rogers.
Memorials were directed to Emmanuel Lutheran Church or Tekamah Fire and Rescue.