Mary Kathleen (Kay) Rogerson
Feb. 13, 1914 – April 3, 2014
Kay was born and raised in Summerside, PEI, the eldest daughter in Charles Albert and Josephine Clow’s family of 11 children. Her brothers were Robert, Victor, Edward, Ralph, Allan and Edwin. Her sisters were Margaret, Doris, Lillian and Susan. She was raised in a home without a refrigerator or running water, eventually leaving for Montreal to make her way in the world and help her siblings along that same path. It was in Montreal she met John Rogerson, a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. They married in 1945, honeymooned in Ladysmith, then raised a growing family in Ottawa, Edmonton and Trenton. They eventually settled for good in Ladysmith when John retired from the forces in 1964.
Kay was dedicated to her faith and volunteered many hours with the Catholic Women’s League and with the Legion over the years. But at her centre was a fierce, steadfast and unconditional love for her large family. She, in turn, was their rock, admired for her generosity of spirit, her compassionate, yet no-nonsense approach to life, and her ability to roll with its punches with grace and dignity. She lost her second daughter, Kathy, in 1951, her husband in 1981 and her eldest daughter, Joan, in 2011. She is lovingly remembered by her daughter, Karen Graczyk (Barb), sons Mike (Lori), Peter (Darlene) and John (Joan) Rogerson, son-in-law, Jack McKinley, her sister Lillian and her brother Edwin, 15 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, one great great-grandchild and the many sons- and daughters-in-law she so warmly welcomed into her clan.
She lived in her home until the end, still hosting gatherings for upwards of 50 people, including her 100th birthday celebration in February. She was always on top of what was happening with her loved ones, and ready with a perceptive comment and an attentive ear. We miss your hugs, your cookies, your family dinners and barbecues, your wisdom, your faith, your support, your interest and the way you made every single one of us feel connected and special.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 12. The service will be followed by a family interment and tea in the hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Kay’s favourite charities, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society.
“Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change those things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
— written by Reinhold Niebuhr, lived by Kay Rogerson.