Oskar G. Rogg

1929 - 2008

Oskar G. Rogg, 79, of Wytheville, Va., formerly of New Milford, Conn., died on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, after suffering a head injury. Mr. Rogg served in the Connecticut General Assembly from 1984 to 1992, representing the 167th District (New Sherman and New Fairfield) and serving on the Appropriations Committee. Prior to his election to the General Assembly, Mr. Rogg was a long time member of the New Milford Planning Commission, and chaired the school building committee for the Northville Elementary School. In the General Assembly, Mr. Rogg was known as a tireless legislator and a staunch fiscal conservative. He treasured his relationships with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and his service in the legislature was a high point of his life. Mr. Rogg was born on April 2, 1929, in Roggenzell, a tiny farming village in far southern Germany. Frustrated by what he viewed as a rigid and hidebound society in Germany, he came to the United States in 1950. He worked on a farm, learned English, joined the United States Army, which promptly stationed him in Germany because of his language skills, and became a U.S. citizen. He graduated from Cornell University in 1960 with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. At Cornell, he was the first president of Von Cramm House, a scholarship living unit. He went on to found Rogg Manufacturing Corporation, a producer of precision parts for the aircraft industry. He also developed several commercial properties and owned farms in Tazewell and Wythe Counties, Va. He and his wife, Wynne, raised five children in New Milford Conn. In 2001, they moved full time to their farm in Wytheville, Va., where he raised Angus and Limousin cattle. Despite a 15 year battle with Parkinson's disease, he farmed actively until the day he died. He was headed out to rake hay in preparation for baling when he fell and sustained a head injury. He is survived by his wife, Anne Wynne (Barringer) Rogg, of Wytheville; five children, Oskar Rogg, of Atlanta, Ga., William Rogg, of Hingham, Mass,, Martha Saleski, of Hamden, Conn., Elizabeth Ives, of Southington, Conn., and Jennifer Eisenstadt. of New York City; two brothers, Walter Rogg. of New Milford, Conn., and Luis Rogg, of Wangen, Germany; eight nieces and nephews; and nine grandchildren. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, October 23, 2008, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Wytheville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the National Parkinson Foundation. Grubb Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.