Robert "Bob" Rodgers

Robert (Bob) Lee Rodgers went to his Heavenly home on June 9, 2025 following a
battle with cancer. Born May 14, 1947, to William and Virginia (Bedard) Rodgers in
Waukegan, Illinois, he spent his childhood in Round Lake, Illinois where he enjoyed
fishing and learning to play the saxophone. He was first chair in band all the way
through high school and also played for church services.
After graduation in 1965, Bob made his way to Longview, Texas to enter
LeTourneau College (before it was University) as a mechanical engineering
student. He loved his studies, but after his junior year, his draft number was
getting close and he decided to join the Air Force. Bob served as an electronics
engineer with a specialty in both electronics and radio/television communications
in the U. S. Air Force from 1968 to 1972 at Chanute AFB in Illinois, then
Sondrestrom, Greenland for the early warning system. His final duty station was
Brooks Aerospace Medical Center in San Antonio working in radiobiology as well as
research and development on the space program. After military service, he
returned to Longview to finish his degree at LeTourneau. He took a part-time job
at The Camera Shop Hallmark in downtown Longview as stock clerk and before
long, he quickly progressed to General Manager in recognition of his knowledge of
photography and administrative abilities. He then ultimately purchased the store
in 1983, when the owner retired. It was at The Camera Shop Hallmark that Bob
met his wife, Betty, when she brought in film to be developed. They were married
in 1980 and just celebrated their forty-fifth anniversary on June 7th. Over the
years, Bob received awards for his photography including winning 3rd place in a
national photo contest and receiving the President's Award in the annual Texas
Bank & Trust contest. Bob Rodgers taught photography and darkroom classes for
Kilgore College, LeTourneau University and Daingerfield High School as well as at
The Camera Shop, plus he judged a number of photo contests. Bob also ran a
successful black and white darkroom at home for many years as a side business.
He had loved photography since he was a young man with a Brownie camera and
developed it into his lifelong profession at The Camera Shop Hallmark Gold Crown
for 47 years. It was necessary for him to retire in 2019 when he closed the store
due to his advanced kidney disease and need for a transplant. He miraculously
received that kidney on Christmas Day 2022, but the anti-rejection meds he had to
take made him very susceptible to getting cancer, which ultimately took his life.
Bob never met a stranger and was never at a loss for words. He loved to kid
around with people and always had a joke or two handy. When he was out and
about, he knew so many people in the community, that his son-in-law dubbed him
"Mayor Bob"!
In June 1972, the Gregg County Sheriff's Reserve was formed and Bob Rodgers was
the last of the reserve deputies sworn into that original group when he retired in
2023, after more than fifty years of serving Gregg County as a dedicated officer.
The reserves were designed to receive the required classroom law enforcement
training along with shooting range skills to earn their credentials and were then
placed so that there would be two officers per unit when on patrol out in the
county. Over the years, Bob received Reserve Officer of the Year three times and
thoroughly enjoyed his time in law enforcement.
He has been a member of First Baptist Church for over thirty years and has been
active in the Precept Lifegroup Class. Bob was also a member of the Longview
Rotary Club for twenty-six years and was President of the Longview Downtown
Development Corporation from 1983-1985.
Bob is survived by his wife of forty-five years, Betty, and son, William Scott
Rodgers (Crystal), daughter, Michele Simpson (Scott), grandchildren, Sabrina
Stopka (Sean), Hunter Rodgers, Ethan Rodgers, Shawn Simpson and Steven
Simpson. He is also survived by his sister Karen Hane (Don), sister-in-law Carolyn
Ramirez, nephew, Jeff Buehring and nieces, Kristen Weglarz, Kimberly Duquette
(Mark) and great-nieces, Madison and Vivian Weglarz, and his beloved dog Cricket.
A Celebration of Life will be Saturday, June 14, at 10 am in the sanctuary of First
Baptist Church, Longview followed by a Committal Service at Rosewood Cemetery
Mausoleum. Visitation will be Friday evening, from 5 until 7 pm at Rader Funeral
Home.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to First Baptist Church or a charity of
your choice.
The funeral service will be streamed on the First Baptist Church of Longview's Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/FIRSTBAPTISTCHURCHLONGVIEW)