Marjorie ‘Marge’ L. Rogers
May 6, 1928 — June 5, 2022
Marjorie Rogers, neé Chester, passed away peacefully on June 5 at Providence St. Mary Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington, after a brief bout with COVID-19.
Mostly known as Marge, she also collected “Marnie” and “Margy,” depending on how many people with similar names were around.
Marge, elder of two siblings, was born to Roy and Lois Chester in San Louis Obispo County, California, May 6, 1928, and grew up in their home in Clairmont. She attended local elementary and high schools and Chaffey Junior College, then enrolled at Fresno State Normal School (now California State University, Fresno) in 1949. There she met and married her lifelong partner, Richard (Dick) Rogers, and gave birth to their three boys.
They both got their teaching credentials. Dick was hired into the Fresno Unified School District and took a seasonal ranger position in Yosemite National Park. They spent summers in the park with the family until they retired from teaching.
The family moved to the Sonora area in 1968, where Dick helped open Columbia College. When the boys completed high school, Marge took a position teaching kindergarten (and later third grade) at Jamestown Elementary.
Upon retirement, Marge and Dick started traveling in earnest. They made the loop of western national parks of the U.S. and Canada in their beloved Bounder, as well as visiting their grandchild in Anchorage and taking several big-ship cruises. They also regularly volunteered at various national park service locations in the west.
Marge loved socializing, gave generously, and became known as Grandma Marge across the country. She was a member of the Sierra Quilt Guild, the Golden Sierra Rose Society, and P.E.O. She also loved football — it didn’t matter who was playing.
Marge was preceded in death by both parents, her husband, Richard H. Rogers (2006); middle child, John Christopher (1974); and a nephew, Bruce Clark (2010).
She is survived by her brother, Bruce Chester, and many nieces and nephews of various generations; two sons, Douglas and Mark; three grandchildren, Amanda Hammond (Ryan), Katharine Rogers, and Richard W. Rogers; one great-grandchild and dozens of surrogate grandchildren/nieces/nephews.
A celebration of her life will be held in late July or early August.