Herbert John Rogers

HERBERT JOHN ROGERS, of New Martinsville, W.Va., passed away after a short illness at Wheeling Hospital on February 1, 2020. He was 79 years old.
Herb graduated from Reader High School in 1958. During his senior year at Reader, he became known as "the one man track team" because he competed in quarter mile, mile, and longer races as the only representative from his school. His performance was good enough to attract the attention of the WVU coaching staff where he was offered a track and field scholarship. For a period of time, he held the WVU record in the one mile run. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from WVU in 1962 with a degree in political science.
Following WVU, he was admitted to the Harvard Law School and graduated with a law degree in 1966. He clerked for Judge Robert Maxwell in the northern federal district court of West Virginia for a year, followed by practice as a legal aid attorney in Wheeling. He then began many years of private legal practice in New Martinsville. He was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1979, on the recommendation of prominent defense attorney William Kunstler.
Herb enjoyed many activities, among them running for political office. He never cared who he ran against nor how big of a political reputation his opponent had. He was consistently for the little guy and against the big corporate interests.
He developed a strong interest in religion and received two divinity degrees in the latter part of his life. He loved discussing religion and philosophy and made more than one pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. During the last months of his life he was known to feed and give money and clothing to some of New Martinsville's homeless.
Herb is survived by his wife, Debbie; children, Eliot and Madison; and brother, Jim. He was preceded in death by his mother, Ruth; father, Herbert C.; and sister, Martha.
A memorial service is being considered but plans are incomplete at this time.