Tristan : Ken Rogers Obituary
Submitted by Tristan Times (Juanita Brock) 02.11.2008 (Article Archived on 16.11.2008)

It is with sadness that we report the death of Ken Rogers. He was admitted to hospital, after having a fall that broke his hip, and died on the 24th October.

Ken Rogers

It is with sadness that we report the death of Ken Rogers.  He was admitted to hospital, after having a fall that broke his hip, and died on the 24^th October. 

His funeral service conducted by James Glass and Dereck Rogers was held the following day in St Joseph Catholic Church, when James gave a brief on his uncle’s life.

Ken was born on the 24^th Feb 1922 and is the last of Granny Agnes Rogers (nee Smith) children and the last of that generation of Catholics who carried her faith and realised her dream, of having a church built on the island.

If anyone deserved a medal for unpaid service to the community in my eyes it would be Ken.  I was adopted by Ken at the age of 14 months, and during my upbringing he taught me many important values in life: Respect is earned not brought, treat the next person the way you would like to be treated yourself, despite Colour, Ethnic Group or Religion, to speak your mind even if you lose friends in doing so, and so forth.

Ken was a cheerful man, with a good sense of humour, and was always teasing.  He was a man of many skills.  He started work when the Naval Garrison was based on the island during the 1940’s, and one of his jobs was to work in the bakery, he became an excellent baker, and used to bake all the bread rolls for weddings as well as plaited breads.  He also use to do dry cleaning.

During the evacuation of 1961 he first worked in a power station in Calshot, and during his second visit to the UK he worked in a butcher shop in Fawley before returning to Tristan for good in 1970.  His butchering skills that he learnt, were often called upon to cut meat for fellow islanders, the expatriate community and the fishing company, up until he could no longer do so.

Perhaps one of his biggest achievements was to run the Prince Philip Hall as bar manager for 34 years, though he never touched an alcoholic drink during his entire life.  He even came back to run the pub for a while, after retiring as a storeman for the PWD.  Often he would be seen playing bridge with his customers and service was always with a joke and a smile.  He also played the piano, and I remember as a boy, he would spend some time playing on an old piano in the main hall, before opening the pub.  His favorites being, the Crystal Chandelier, and Songs by Jim Reeves.

He was passionate about his longboat Canton and took a keen interest in how she sailed on every trip she went to sea.

Laurain, my family and myself would like to extend special thanks to Dr Carel and his wife, the nurses, and the support of family and friends during his time of illness.  Also for Fr Chris for his welcoming, and frequent prayers, which Ken looked forward too, and only a few days before his death he commented to me, that Fr Chris was a good preacher.

Ken was certainly one of  “Natures Gentlemen”, and will be sadly missed.

James Glass