Oskar G. Rogg

Oskar G. Rogg, 79, of Wytheville, formerly of New Milford, Conn., died Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, after suffering a head injury in a fall. A memorial service was held Thursday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church. He 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, he 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, he 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. He was born 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 U.S. 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 bachelor's 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. He and his wife Wynne raised five children in New Milford, Conn. In 2001, they moved full-time to their farm in Wytheville 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. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the National Parkinson Foundation. Grubb Funeral Home in Wytheville was in charge of the arrangements.