Lee Rogers Tribute

Just a couple of words to keep in touch.
It is a gift to discover a friend among colleagues. Some colleagues are rememberer, a friend is never forgotten.
God Bless,

Carlos Diaz
Venezuela

I have read that Baker Hughes has made a merger yes Lee would love to have been there to help. He loved the times of Company mergers, the challenges, the mental gymnastics of merging two companies. He loved idea of taking two
companies and making a united one. With all the best pieces from each one taken and blended into one. He loved the people aspect of mergers, and I have been told he had a way of never getting upset or even ruffled was a great asset. The funny thing is I bet he really felt that way. Life was just not something to get upset about for him. Anyway, thanks for all the calls and know Lee will be directing from heaven . So if any of you think you hear that funny little laugh bet on it. May God be with you Mart/Ann

Dear Dad,

Hey it’s Mo. You were the best dad any child could ask for. I am a pretty good judge of that because I have known you my whole life. All of us kids looked up to you so much. You were our tutor in school, our mentor, and the person we came to for advice on life and career paths. You instilled a drive in us, a passion for life, and the desire to be good to others. We are all over-achievers maybe due to the fact that you were always the master of what is the next step. You left shoes for us kids that are to big to be filled. We can only aspire to be as great a human being as you were.

How did you have the strength to do all you did? Did you have a clone, were you a cyborg? Nope, you were just superhuman. You raised five amazing children and I am not saying that just because I am one of them, not to toot my own horn but I am pretty amazing. Between all five of us we make a genius. You had it all: a loving marriage of over 30 years, a family that genuinely cared for each other and a career you loved. Your successes will live on in everything you shared with us, especially your knowledge.

I will hold close to my heart the memories of our time spent just you and me driving down route 66 from Texas to California. Twice!! Sorry you had a daughter that experienced flim flam and could not decide what state she wanted to live in. The time that I lived with you briefly in Houston and each day when you would come home from work we would always press your Blues Brother Movie quote machine. We will always have those famous Rogers moments that resemble the Griswold’s traveling to see Wally World. “Real tomato ketchup Eddie?” ha-ha

You and I were always like frat brothers joking and talking in accents. Your favorite accents of mine are the Hispanic or Russian accents. I miss you calling me pumpkin or boo bear. To others you may have been ordinary but to me you were my hero. You fought off nightmares and the dreaded Freddy Krueger. I will always admire your strength, knowledge, determination, and fearless nature. My heart is truly broken and there is not one day I will not miss you. You were our leader. Each day I say what would dad do? I get up and go to work like a brave soldier with a smile on my face. You were the bravest. I could never do what you did, fighting cancer twice. You never EVER complained and you just went on with life finding something to smile and laugh about.

I hope you are up there micro-managing, having fun with family, friends, and our furry four-legged companions. Make sure you look in on us from time to time. You are gone from this world but will never be absent from our hearts. I love you dad and miss you each day.

Your Boo Bear,

MoMo (Monique)

Lee was my big brother, I am the second in line of four brothers and sisters who loved each other in the way God intended – with all of our hearts. We also have a stepsister (Kathy Bracisco) and a stepbrother (John Hoyt) that we were blessed with. Lee was our North Star shining in the heavens of our lives – his love never wavered, just like the North Star – he was always there for us (even when he was out of the country, as his job so often took him). He was always there with love and advice. I, Linda, my brother Dick, and sister Tina were privileged to see Lee and Ann’s love develop into a marriage made in heaven and heard about usually only in fairytales. Melody and Rhiannon (Lee and Ann’s only grandchild so far), Monique, Les, Chris, and Windy had parents that gave their all to their children, grandchild, brothers and sisters, and most of all to each other. When I remember my brother, Lee, I will remember that, to me, he was the embodiment of honor, courage, integrity, honesty, love of his entire family, and everything that family values really mean; and through everything he had to endure, from surviving colon cancer to fighting like a true warrior for more than a year against the leukemia which finally took his life, his overriding sense of humor never left him. He made sure that his wife and family would never suffer without his financial support, the earmark of family responsibility. Our hearts are truly broken and we will grieve our loss until we are reunited in our Lord (here I must thank my brother, Dick for being the spiritual center of our family and, for me at least, making sure that we were all aiming for the same hereafter). I do know that Lee would agree with something that I have heard often but do not know the author of: “remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all, if you cannot remember me except with tears do not remember me at all”.

When we were all at MD Anderson hospital in Houston on January 3, 2009, thirteen of us held Lee’s, and each other’s, hands, while we waited for Jesus to take Lee’s hand, we prayed the 23rd psalm, and then Ann asked Dick to lead us in prayer. The prayer he chose was from the gospel of Paul, who, when asked what he would like to hear from Jesus when they met again, replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I recited a poem from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (which was also one of Lee’s favorite books),


I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.

I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.

For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.

I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago,
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.

But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.

The voices and returning feet that Lee will be listening for will be his wife and all of his family, including all our aunts, uncles, and cousins, who have been a great comfort in this time. Shortly after this, Jesus, with my mother and father (and stepdad) came to take Lee to heaven where there is no more pain or suffering or sorrow, only light and joy and peace.

Now, before I take up the entire website, there are just a few memories that I want to share. One of the first memories of Lee that I have was at a beach; he ticked me off somehow, so I chucked one of my beach toys at him and missed by a mile. In return, he took aim with his beach bucket (in those days they were made of metal) and hit me square on the forehead and I ended up with 3 or 4 stitches on my forehead (how was I to know that, in later years, he would be the star pitcher on Incline High School’s State Championship baseball team?) I remember my first day of first grade and the brand new dress I had on that made me feel so grown up. Just as we were about to pile into the car, I had to go to the bathroom, and little boys are notorious for leaving the seat up, so when I sat down I fell all the way in the toilet (so much for my grown up new dress). Shortly after that incident, we were all getting home from a trip and, once again, I needed the bathroom badly. Lee thought that it would be funny to trip me on the way down the hall and I fell chin first on the bathroom door threshold (the old-fashioned kind that is raised up) and cracked my chin wide open. I got 17 stitches for that one. Now, lest you think that all Lee gave me was stitches, let me say that throughout our lives 99% of the stitches he gave me were in my side from laughing so hard – Lee could always make anyone laugh (a true talent and a blessing to all who knew him.) Now let me jump ahead to Incline Village where we moved to when I was in 4th grade. All through elementary school we lived across the golf course from our bus stop. Every winter Lee and Dick would spend hours digging a path through the snow on the course so we could get to the bus stop semi-dry. Whenever we all went skiing, Lee would make sure we didn’t meet our end on the black diamond runs. When Lee got his driver’s license, he became our cheerful taxi driver, which, with a brother and 2 sisters involved in extra-curricular activities, was a full time job. I’ll never forget all the away games in the boondocks of Nevada that he drove me and my best friend, Jeanne Cangemi, to (we were both songleaders, and he was on the team) and those awful metal seats in the back of his Jeep. In high school, Lee was a hard act to follow, but we did our best, and he was always there to help with homework that we had trouble with. Then he met Ann, and the rest is, so to speak, history. I never had any children, but he and Ann always let me share theirs (very happily), so I felt like I was a part of their upbringing in a small way. The happy memories go on and on, but for now I will simply say that we love you Lee, and as long as any of your family survives, you will also. You are a part of our hearts and souls; and in God’s good time we will all be together again. I will never say good-bye, but for the time being – au revoir – until we are together again. I love you big brother! Linda Rogers-Knott – January 13, 2009

Lee is one of the finest, most kind hearted, and profoundly influential person that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with. His devotion to his wonderful family is what I admire about him most. He worked endlessly to provide for his family and yet he was always there for Monique, Melody, Les, Chris and Windy. I know he was truly proud of his family and it gleamed on his face when they were all together.

Growing up with divorced parents, it was always heartwarming to be welcomed into such a caring and loving home. In getting to know Lee I am a better man for it. I feel that I was able to absorb some of his wisdom during a few impressionable years for me. Now that I have kids of my own I know that I have been impacted by Lee as a father, and I can only hope to impart half the knowledge and care for them as he did for his family.

To the Rogers family, I am deeply saddened for your loss and my heart goes out to you. All of the Hernandez family is praying for you and hope that in time your hearts will mend. I thank you all for sharing Lee with us and allowing me to learn from such a phenomenal man.

Here are just a few quick snap shot memories that stick out most; Lee’s quick wit, University of Colorado Buffaloes, consoling hugs for Niq-que, superior intelligence, two Packard’s, the man could throw a baseball, motorcycle helmet in one hand black work bag in the other, trivia at dinner, Ford Taurus Wagon with a license plate frame stating “My other car is a Packard”, Rock music, great homework tutor, 49ers Football, holding Ann’s hand while walking anywhere, infectious laugh and smile…

My introduction to Lee occurred when he transferred from the Richmond Refinery to the Compensation Group in CCC. For Lee, the timing of his transfer was most inopportune. For me, his arrival in the Chemical Co. was a "Godsend." I say that because our workload at that time was monumental.

In our IN BOX were projects including an overall reorganizaton of the Fertilizer Div including reevaluations of all positions; aquisitions within the Oronite Additives Div. which involved incorporating subunits in France & Japan ( including developing Salary Structures and Job Evaluations for the new additions ); reorganization of the Aromatics & Olefins Divisions in Houston; re-evaluations of Finance positions in the Headquarters organization, etc. Overall our workload was overwhelming.

Lee approached this mountain of work in a calm, professional manner and methodically processed an unbelievable amount of work with high client satisfaction. To be totally honest, I am still amazed that we were able to work our way out of this tremendous workload in an acceptable time frame. Lee's devotion to the job which included many long hours and countless weekends played a hugh part in the effort.

After Lee became the Compensation Manager for Chevron's overseas group, there were many occasions when he worked with my wife Loraine in her assignment in Angola Africa. Salary Surveys, Job Evaluations and development of numerous Salary Structures for multiple Countries were routine business. His involvement with the Angola H.R. organization was invaluable.

After Loraine and I retired, we moved to Texas. Lee subsequently left Chevron and joined Baker Hughes in Oklahoma. Fortunately business trips to Houston provided the chance to get together to share a meal, visit & get caught up on what was happening in our lives. We looked forward to the trips Lee made to Houston and consumsed a good deal of delicous seafood during his visits.

We have nothing but great memories of our Dear Friend Lee Rogers. I know he loved his family dearly and at this sad time, share their sense of loss. We plan to concentrate on all the wonderful memories we shared with Lee and pray his family will be able to do as well. God's blessing to the family and we thank them for sharing this great man with us over the years.

Charles & Loraine Degner