William Earl Rogers
March 3, 1929 - January 28, 2009
Obituary
William Earl Rogers died on January 28, 2009. Mr. Rogers was born on March 3, 1929 in Anaconda, MT, the eldest son of Thomas Earl and Nelda Celeste Johnson Rogers. Bill graduated from Anaconda High School where he played football for the Copperheads. Bill volunteered for the U.S Navy where he served as a hospital corpsman during the Korean War; after he was honorably discharged from the Navy he went on to graduate from the University of Montana where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Master’s Degree in Economics. After college Bill and his wife Thelma settled in Seattle. In Seattle, Bill was a coach of little league football and baseball for the Rainier Community Center, and was an active advocate for elementary and high school education in the Greater Seattle community. Bill had a career in Government service that spanned over 30 years, serving for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Health and Human Services; and finally creating the Ombudsman office for the Social Security department and serving as Ombudsman under Gwendolyn King, Commissioner of Social Security for the George H. W. Bush Administration. Bill was preceded in death by his wife Thelma and his grandson Farhad Saadatmandi. Bill leaves to celebrate his life his sister Meredith and brother Randall; his daughters Valerie Saadatmandi, Shauna, and Teri Kemp; his son Randall; his grandsons William, Michael, Farshad, and Samuel; his granddaughters Courtney, Victorie and Sidney; and great-granddaughter TyLeah; also he leaves very many friends. Mr. Rogers’s Viewing will be on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Bonney Watson Funeral home, 1732 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122. Mr. Roger’s Services are on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 11:00 a.m., at Emerald City Community Seventh Day Adventist Church, 801 25th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122. A private burial will follow. The family suggests instead of flowers, please gift remembrances in the name of William and Thelma M. Rogers to the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic or to The United Negro College Fund.