"Bob" William Robert Rogers

Beginning on the 29th day of October, 1937, Bob Rogers lived a long and rich life, with numerous children and grandchildren, and several careers along the way.

Bob's children, Robin, Beau, Peter, Tommy, and Paul, were the loves of his life, as was his wife Jeannette, who he met in 1979 and married not once, but twice! He was lucky to have his grandchildren, Adela, June, and Aaron, in his daily life.

Bob was a poet, whose book, Non-fiction Poems 1965-1985, was published by the Paper Plant in 1985. In the 1980s, he co-hosted weekly open mic poetry readings in downtown Raleigh's Paper Plant. Bob was also an avid reader, particularly of Russian literature, philosophy and poetry.

Bob's business, Rogers Word Service, employed hundreds of people from Raleigh over 30+ years, first as a word processing company, then as a transcription service. After retiring, Bob became an avid walker and often bragged of 5- or 7-mile walks throughout his neighborhood.

Bob was a great lover of music, in particular jazz, and encouraged the love of music in his sons, two of whom have become professional musicians. Bob was employed in the radio industry for decades, and his career included managing commercial radio stations and nonprofits, including Houston's Pacifica Foundation station. He volunteered as an announcer for close to 20 years at WSHA, the station out of Shaw University. He also created taintradio — an online music station that featured independent radio personalities hosting their choices of music on a 24-7 basis. He let taintradio go when he turned 85 years old.

Bob died peacefully at the age of 88 on February 24, 2026, surrounded by family. He is survived by his children, Robin, Peter, Thomas, Paul, his wife, Jeannette, his brothers, Andy and Jim, and many grandchildren. We are very saddened by his loss, but also note the graceful way he left this world. There is no one like Bob.

Please join us for a memorial service for Bob at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh (www.uufr.org).