Marilyn Kay Rogers

Marilyn Kay Rogers, 70, of Lafayette, IN, passed away on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.
She was born on July 22, 1951, in Watertown, South Dakota, to the late Clyde Raymond and Vera Emelia (Carlson) Blizzard.
Marilyn graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1969 and went on to receive her Bachelors of Library Science from Purdue University in 1973.
On December 23, 1972, she married Joseph Rogers at St. Thomas Aquinas in West Lafayette. They later divorced in 1990.
Marilyn worked for Purdue University as a librarian and prior to that at Horizons Unlimited helping mentally disabled adults.
She was a parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center where she belonged to the Third Order of Lay Dominicans, following in the footsteps of her parents. At St. Tom's she participated in the Centering Prayer Group on Mondays for more than 20 years. Marilyn was also a parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Delphi where she was part of the Altar & Rosary Society. She participated in teaching the Sacraments to 2nd, 10th, and 11th graders during CCD classes. Marilyn was part of the Wednesday morning women's prayer group for more than 40 years and was dedicated to her Holy Hour of Adoration every month. She volunteered regularly at both St. Joseph and St. Thomas Aquinas. One of Marilyn's great joys in life was visiting the Vatican in Rome with her brother Pat on several occasions.
Marilyn was an incredibly loving and giving person. She was passionate about saving the environment and social reform. She spent her life helping others, working with the mentally handicapped until a car accident made her disabled. Thanks to her strong faith she was able to move forward from her disabilities and continue to find meaningful work. Through her job as a librarian at the Purdue Veterinary Medicine library, she was able to help students on a daily basis. After retirement Marilyn continued to donate her time, teaching various children in her life how to read and write all the way until the day she died. She was also known for rescuing stray animals (many of which became life long pets) and donating to multiple charities on a regular basis. In the last few years Marilyn volunteered at Franciscan Health Lafayette hospital to provide companionship to hospice patients. She also joined a small group of women to pray for people who passed without family prior to their cremation. She enjoyed needlework winning several blue ribbons at the Indiana State Fair, planting flowers, canning applesauce, making award winning fudges and killer brownies and her sweet potato casserole was requested every major holiday.
Surviving are her children, Jonathan (Heather) Rogers of Roanoke, IN, Cynthia (Nelson) Rogers Lantigua of Lafayette, and Glenn (Jenna) Rogers of Freeburg, IL; her siblings, Howard Blizzard of Perth, Western Australia, Patrick Blizzard of Auburn, WA, Rosemary Blizzard Tudor of Indianapolis, Cynthia Smith of Lafayette, and Constance Smith of Lafayette; and her 7 grandchildren, Maddison, Gabriel, Jack, and Lucas, Blaze, Caleb, Chinola, and 5 stepgrandchildren Kaitlyn, Hannah, Jordan, Kristen, William; as well as several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her brothers, C. Robert Blizzard and Thomas Blizzard.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 from 5 to 7:45 p.m. at Fisher Funeral Chapel with a Rosary at 7:45 p.m.. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 10 a.m. with Father Tom McDermott officiating at St. Thomas Aquinas in West Lafayette. Burial will follow in St. Boniface Cemetery, Lafayette.
Memorial Contributions may be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Habitat for Humanity, or Natalie's 2nd Chance Animal Shelter. You can donate online by clicking on the links below and envelopes will be available at the funeral home.