Daniel Garvin Rogers, Sr.

            We are gathered this morning to bear witness to our faith in the resurrection, the resurrection of all of are buried in Jesus Christ the Lord and the resurrection of Daniel Garvin Rogers, Sr.  Dan died at home this last Tuesday.  He was 88.

            Dan Rogers was the youngest of three children of William Garvin and Drury “Daisy” Slay Rogers.  He spent most of his childhood in and around his birthplace of Collins, Mississippi.  Dan’s father was a farmer and small town business man.  The family valued education:  Dan’s older brother became a doctor and his sister a teacher.  Dan, of course, became a pharmacist, taking his degree in pharmacy from Ole Miss in 1942.

            It was in the science lab at Ole Miss that Dan and Annelle Cato met.  The “chemistry” must have been right, as Dan and Nell Rogers married less than two years later, on December 26, 1941.  The two shared 64 years of marriage together, and were blessed with three children.

            After Dan and Nell finished their studies at Ole Miss, the newlyweds moved to Alabama, where each worked for DuPont.  Dan joined the Navy in 1943, and Nell followed him to his various duty stations ranging from Plattsburg, NY, to Maryland, Norfolk, the outer banks of NC, and New York City.  Dan was commissioned an officer, but despite his pharmacy degree, the Navy determined he was best qualified to serve on an LST, rather than the medical corps.  Nell and Dan were in Times Square on August 15, 1945, VJ Day.

            After the war Dan and Nell returned to Mississippi briefly, where Dan started his vocational work as a pharmacist.  Neither were satisfied with the life or opportunities afforded them in their home state, so in 1946, they moved to Richmond, where Dan’s brother was serving as the chief resident in OB GYN at MCV.

            Dan worked first for Semmes Avenue Pharmacy, before opening his own drug store at the corner of Westover Blvd and Forest Hill. That family-owned store was typical of that earlier generation of drugstores that included a grill and flowers and home delivery.  And jobs for his teenage sons.  Dan built his business and became active in the new and growing Westover Hills neighborhood, while Nell maintained their home.  Eventually Dan owned and operated a chain of drug stores. Dan sold the stores and retired in 1984.

Dan and Nell had come to believe they could not have children, so when Dan’s physician brother called and said, “Would you like to have a son?” they jumped at the chance and adopted and named their son Daniel Garvin Rogers, Jr.  Thirteen months later they had a second son, Paul Clifton, and seven years later, a daughter, Julie Anna.  They lost Julie to cancer in 1993.

            After moving to Richmond, Dan and Nell joined Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, where they were active members for 23 years, before joining Bon Air Presbyterian in 1972.  Dan was an ordained officer in the Presbyterian Church, serving as both a deacon and an elder.  He worked with the FISH organization.  He visited the inmates at the old Spring Street Prison. He delivered Meals on Wheels.  Dan was actively involved in this congregation’s refugee resettlement ministry and the work and witness of the Church and Society Division.

            But perhaps Dan was happiest and found the greatest fulfillment when he had the opportunity to combine his passion for Jesus Christ and his passion for woodworking.  This church, “his” church, is filled with his craftsmanship.  The lectern on which you signed the guest book this morning, and its smaller companion.  The sign stands which directed you to the sanctuary.  Pamphlet holders, signs, bulletin boards.  A clock in my office.  The striking and beautiful stand in the narthex which holds the Memorial Garden Book of Remembrance.  All of this, in addition to furniture and other pieces Dan made for his family and friends.

            Dan shared his wife Nell’s love for all creatures great and small, with dogs in particular.

            Dan was a quiet and fairly reserved man who was a good complement to his activist life companion.  They were a good pair.

            Dan suffered a pronounced stroke in 1999.  It was a struggle for him to lose mobility, freedom, and the use of his hands.  But he made a remarkable recovery, and his adaptation to the stroke and the loss of his beloved Nell is a witness to the human spirit.  After Nell’s death, and as his own health deteriorated, Dan made new connections with his sons.  But for the most part, he was ready to be re-united in death with the one to whom he was bonded in life.  He faced life and death with the confidence that comes through a mature and tested faith.  We give thanks today for Dan’s good and long life, and rejoice with him that Dan and Nell are no longer separated by death but reunited in eternal life.

             Dan was also predeceased by their daughter Julie.  Dan is survived by his two sons, Danny and his wife, Gennette, and Paul and his wife, Elizabeth; and three grandchildren, Amanda Rogers, Amanda Wilcher, and Joseph Winter. 

            Now, having gathered for our mutual support and to hear the comfort of the scriptures, let us worship God:

R. Charles Grant

Bon Air Presbyterian Church

Richmond, Virginia

March 1, 2008