Weldon Douglass Rogers

Weldon Douglass Rogers was born on March 14, 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of three children born to the Rev. Jefferson P. and Mary Grace Harris Rogers. The family moved to Washington, DC later that year where Weldon spent his formative years and graduated from high school.
Weldon absorbed his father's passion for tennis and became a pioneer in what was - in the 1960s - primarily a whites-only sport. He integrated the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association as a youth, playing in tennis tournaments up and down the east coast. His matches on the court sometimes followed off-court battles to get on the court, due to the race prejudice at the country clubs where many tournaments of the time were held. Throughout this period, Weldon had the support of his family, which had a long heritage of activism in the struggle for civil rights.
Weldon's tennis prowess at the sport earned him a scholarship to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Tennis remained at the center of Weldon's personal and professional life after his graduation from Brown and his relocation to Atlanta, Georgia, where he became an esteemed tennis coach. He taught hundreds of students in the public parks of Atlanta.
He continued playing competitively on national circuits, and in 1977 he and his partner won the Men's Doubles title at the 60th National Championship tournament held by the American Tennis Association.
Apart from tennis, Weldon's chief passion was his family. A loving and dutiful son, he made regular trips to Florida for decades to look after his parents in their later years. He relished any chance he had to spend time with his siblings and his nephews and nieces.
Weldon was cherished for his unfailing kindness and gentle spirit, which were paired with a sophisticated sense of humor. His wry observations about the world could easily be misunderstood if you failed to notice the twinkle in his eye as he spoke.
Weldon's senior years were enhanced by his decade-long partnership with the love of his life, Vicky Anderson Rogers. Always a modern man, Weldon and Vicky met online and almost immediately became virtually inseparable. Their relationship and marriage became the crowning jewel of his too-short life.
Weldon was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Vicki Rogers; his brother Qasim Abdul-Tawwab of Daytona Beach, FL; sister Anita Rogers Howard (Richard Andrews) of Cleveland, OH; nieces Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown (James) of Columbia, MD, Fatimah Fanusie (Yaya) Columbia, MD, Maryam Abdul-Tawwab Mellouk (Driss) of Hamden, CT, and Donielle Howard of Lyndhurst, OH; nephews Tariq Abdul-Tawwab (Candace) of Jackson, MS, Phillip Howard (Carla Moreno) of Medford, MA, Neal Howard (Fatiha) of Malden, MA, and Alan Howard of Portland, OR; cousin Barbara Anders of Miami, FL; and 17 beloved great-nieces and great-nephews.
A celebration of life service is planned for the Greater Atlanta area in early March.
To send condolences to the family, visit our website at www.jcollinsfuneralhome.com
J. Collins Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Villa Rica is in charge of arrangements.