WATERVILLE and TRENTON -- A. Raymond Rogers, 87, died Aug. 27, 2013, at his summer home in Trenton. He was born in Waterville Dec. 26, 1925, the son of A. Raymond and Harriet E. (Eaton) Rogers Sr.
He graduated from Waterville High School and entered theU.S. Navy, serving as a naval airman in the Pacific at the end of World War II. He returned to Waterville, studying geology and then education at Colby College. Ray married Joan (Jay) Smith in 1948; they both graduated from Colby in 1949. They recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Ray started his career as a social studies, math and science teacher and coach at Brooksville High School (Brooksville, Maine) and became principal his first year on the job. He later held positions as principal at Kezar Falls High School and Bar Harbor High School in Maine, assistant principal at Newton South High School in Massachusetts, principal at Manchester High School in Connecticut and principal at Locust Valley Junior/Senior High School on Long Island. He was superintendent at Regional School No. 7 in Winsted, Conn., for 14 years until his retirement in 1984. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1980 and treasured every day of the 33 years he was a cancer survivor. After retirement, Ray and Jay moved back to Waterville, spending winters there and summers at the family camp at Shady Nook in Trenton. They were active antique buyers and sellers for many years, and he worked occasionally as an auctioneer. He was an active member of the Universalist Unitarian Church in Waterville and had served as president of its board. For years, Ray and Jay were active in ESP, the evening sandwich program at the church. He loved to read and read to hundreds of children through the Maine Reads program. He enjoyed travel, whether to Europe (especially Cinqueterre in Italy), the banks of the Yukon River, or the back roads of Down East. He loved to play cribbage. Jay never made a meal he didn't like.
He is survived by his wife, Joan "Jay" (Smith) Rogers of Waterville; sisters Estelle MacDonald of Braintree, Mass., and Martha Beach of Waterville; brother Manley Rogers of Belfast; son Brian and his wife, Sherry Modrow, of Fairbanks, Alaska; daughter Robin and her husband, Bill McDiarmid, of Chapel Hill, N.C.; son Daniel and his wife, Agung Sri, of Bali, Indonesia; daughter Kimberly and her husband, David Cory, of Delta Junction, Alaska; and daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Matt Hagen, of Seattle, Wash. He had a special bond with his grandchildren Chris, Cassidy, Dylan, Tracy, Joyana, Austen and Natalli, and had just met his newest grandchild, Nathan.
A celebration of Ray's life will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, at the Universalist Unitarian Church, 69 Silver St., Waterville.
The family encourages you to share joy with those around you. If you wish, a memorial contribution may be made in Ray's memory to the Evening Sandwich Program, c/o Universalist Unitarian Church, 69 Silver St., Waterville ME 04901.
Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St., Ellsworth. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.
