Dennis Rogers

Dennis Rogers, 77, passed peacefully in his sleep on August 8th in the arms of the two people he loved the most, his wife HollyAnn and his daughter Denise, with his constant canine companion, Gypsy, curled at his feet. There can be no better way to go. Dennis delighted and confounded readers of the News Observer for 32 years with his column and after retiring in 2007, continued to entertain readers with a web site of their RV-ing adventures and later a novel. Having had his photo in the paper three to five days a week all those years, strangers would walk up to him and say, “I know you don’t know me, but I’ve read your column so long, I feel like I know you.” They did know him, because he wrote with an honest and thoughtful style and lived the values that shined through in his writing. He adored his family, immediate, extended, and chosen: HollyAnn Rogers, Denise Rogers and Stuart Turner, Maddie Maynor and Sean Patton, Jessie Maynor and Billy MCNeill, Laura VanLeuvin, Eric VanLeuvin, Margaret Nye, Dale Gibson, John Norris and Jane Cottingham, Thom and Priscilla Hill, Ted and Regina Oliver, Chuck and Lesley Ball, Elton and Tammy Ellison, Chris and Julie Poston, Charlie Smith, Leigh Burke, and Marie Carter, as well as his biker family, his veteran family, and his theatre family. In lieu of flowers, Dennis would have appreciated donations to the USO and Second Chance Animal Adoption. Dennis wanted a celebration of his life, rather than a funeral, but did not want a gathering for his passing to risk causing further spread of COVID-19, so the family will host a post-pandemic barbecue celebration of his life. To be notified of that event, please send an email to DennisRogersCelebrationofLife@gmail.com. . In addition, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Wilmington will host an online gathering of friends and family on Saturday, September 19th, 2020.