John Rogers

John F. Rogers age 80, of Litchfield, MN, died on Sunday, August 9, 2009 at the Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield, MN. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on Thursday, August 13, 2009 at the Church of St. John in Darwin with Father John Pearson and Father Joseph Steinbeisser as Celebrants. Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 8:00 PM on Wednesday at the Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield, MN with a prayer service at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at church on Thursday. Interment will be in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, Darwin, MN. John Francis Rogers, the son of Joseph and Catherine (Salonek) Rogers, was born on March 21, 1929 on a small farm in Watertown, MN. He was the youngest of five children. He attended school in Watertown and moved to Minneapolis, MN when he began working. While working in Mineapolis he met Pauline Sakry. They married in May of 1947. John and Pauline lived and worked in Minneapolis until 1950, when they moved to Rosendale, MN. John was employed by Meeker County on the snowplow as a wing operator in the winters and mowed road ditches for the state in the summer. He also drove a milk truck part time. In 1953 John and his family moved to Litchfield. At this time John was hired by the City of Litchfield as a police patrolman. This was the first law enforcement type job at which John worked and where his strong interest in law enforcement work began. In 1966 John left the police department, going into self employment doing construction. He never lost interest in law enforcement. In the fall of 1970 John ran for the elected office of Sheriff of Meeker County and took office in January 1971 holding that office until his retirement in 1986. John was a member of the Church of St. John in Darwin, MN. He enjoyed woodworking, fishing, watching wrestling on TV and listening to old-time music. He also enjoyed plowing snow, mowing lawn and spending time with his family and his dog Buddy. John is survived by his four children Mike (and Audrey Peterson) Rogers of Litchfield, MN, Sandy (and David) Wirt of Grand Marais, MN, Mary (and Gerry) Gilbertson of Litchfield, MN and Joe (and Tori) Rogers of Litchfield, MN; 8 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren besides other relatives and friends. He is preceded in death by his wife Pauline; parents Joseph and Catherine and 4 siblings.