Delmar L Rodgers

Life Story for Delmar Rodgers

Delmar Lou Rodgers, 87 of Florence, Kentucky passed away Monday, April 4, 2016.Delmar was born on December 11, 1928, the first of three children to Stewart and Lonavene Rodgers in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1946, Delmar graduated from Joliet High School in Joliet, Illinois. He continued his education at the Cincinnati Bible Seminary where he prepared for Christian ministry, earning a bachelors degree, and graduating in 1950.Upon graduation, Delmar began his life-long ministry of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, a ministry spanning greater than sixty years. He served in head ministerial positions in Christian churches in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Illinois. Later in life, his connections with friends in mission fields afforded him multiple opportunities to speak and teach in locations throughout Asia and northern Africa.

Delmar’s daily walk with God was undeniable, his faith was unwavering. He could always be counted on for wise council. He was compassionate and he offered a focused scriptural approach to assist those who were burdened with life’s struggles. He continually sought out and committed himself to those in need. It is certain that Delmar effected positive change in the lives of thousands of people.

Delmar thoroughly enjoyed God’s creation and often sought a lake or a mountain view. A lawn chair and a summer breeze would serve as a recharging station for the busy days ahead. His boat and his camping trailer afforded regular family recreation. At any campfire, a toasted marshmallow would provide him a catalyst to further embellish the ever repeated family stories. Tales of his trips to Yosemite, his scaling of Long’s Peak in the Rocky Mountains, boating through stormy Lake Michigan, being desperately lost in the fog in Canada, all added to the outdoor experience.

He was an imaginative thinker, his mind never content to depart from an unresolved problem. He sought ways to improve the things in the world around him and was constantly working on his next unique adaptation or invention. He received public recognition for a few of his ideas for new gizmos, but he was more so driven by the appeal of the brainstorming, the drawing board sessions, the prototype construction, and the dreaming of creative marketing strategies that might someday bring his new and improved product to the world.

Delmar enjoyed a comical and quirky side of life. He maintained a repertoire of stories and jokes that would afford the listener only a resounding groan as the appropriate response. To add to his collection of anecdotes, he recorded on file cards anything he found amusing or noteworthy throughout the course of the day and he carefully organized them beside the four-color pen in his shirt pocket. Delmar seemed to take delight in knowing that his family disapproved of the hair on his chin, or the fact that he named his dog “Ding-a-Ling”. He was known to successfully barter and trade using only a stick of chewing gum as his currency. And while not a complainer, it was very well established that he could not eat a lukewarm bowl of soup. Delmar Rodgers will be greatly missed by those who knew him.

In addition to his wonderful girlfriend Judy, his nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and his many loving friends at First Church, Delmar is survived by his daughters Cheryl Muir and Gayle Spears as well as his son Lauryn Rodgers. He is also survived by his two sisters, Erma Lee and Carolyn. Delmar was preceded in death by Louise Mae Rodgers, his bride and his loving wife of fifty-three years.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, April 9, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at First Church of Christ, 6080 Camp Ernst Rd, Burlington, KY 41005. There will be a two hour visitation prior to the service, beginning at 11:00 a.m. All are invited to attend the meal which will be served in the church fellowship hall after the graveside service.