Darius Lee 'Doc' Rogers

Darius Lee ‘Doc’ Rogers, 89, of Toronto, OH, passed away Thursday, October 31, 2019 at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. He was a veteran of the US Navy, serving on the USS Aldebaran in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Navy Reserves.

Darius was born on April 2, 1930 to the late Harold Lee Rogers and the late Ann (Still) Stropky. He grew up on the Rogers family farm outside of Toronto, raising horses, taking care of animals, and even showing ponies at the fair. Darius earned his lifelong nickname of ‘Doc’ at 8 years old after tending to his wounded dog.

Doc was defined by his work ethic, his love of family, and his love of traveling -- as long as he was the driver. He learned to drive at age 12, driving taxicabs at 14 and semi-trucks at 15. After serving in the Navy, Doc combined his unparalleled work ethic and his love of traveling, to build his company, Rogers Trucking. What started with the purchase of a single truck grew to a fleet over 25 owned trucks and many more hired trucks. Despite being the President of the company, you never knew where Doc would show up, even driving the trucks himself. He would never expect an employee to complete a task that he himself would not take on. In what spare time he had between his family and his company, Doc also served as a Deputy Sheriff and detective in the Jefferson County Sheriff’s department. 

Doc met his wife of 69 years, Betty, at a lakeside picnic after splashing her with water to get her attention. This playful banter and teasing continued throughout their marriage. In fact, if you asked Doc, he’d tell you they had only had one fight--It just had lasted 69 years. Doc and Betty loved traveling the country with their children and, later, their grandchildren, making yearly (or more frequent) family vacations a priority in their lives. As the years passed, traveling became the rule rather than the exception and Betty and Doc hit the open road, going to motorcoach rallies around the country (a personal favorite being Notre Dame), and eventually having visited every one of the 48 contiguous US states in their motorcoaches over the years. His love of driving the motorhome to new as well as familiar places carried well into his 80s. At 89 and on dialysis, he still ran his own company. 

Our patriarch, Doc, led by example through his wisdom, disciplined work ethic, intelligence, and love of family in ways we all strive to emulate. His legacy lives on through every single one of his children and grandchildren. 

Doc is survived by his wife Betty (Pompa) Rogers; his four children, Marion (Karl Churman) Hitchcock of Toronto, OH, Frank (Karen Boggs) Rogers of Texas, Jon (Monica) Rogers of Wintersville, and Betsie (Ronnie) Michnowicz of Coraopolis, PA, as well as Harry (Suzanne) Cummings who became like a third son; seven grandchildren, Meredith Lee Hitchcock of Chicago, IL, Kelsey Hitchcock of Pittsburgh, PA, Rhiannon and Harold Darius Rogers of New York, NY, Francesca, Luca, and Dominic Michnowicz of Coraopolis, PA; and 3 step-grandchildren, Neil (Holly) Churman of Houston, TX, Kyle (Lauren Shoemaker) Churman of Edinboro, PA, and Kayla Churman of Pittsburgh, PA. He was preceded in death by his son-in-law, George J. Hitchcock.

Friends and family will be received on Sunday, November 3, from 1-4 pm and again on Monday from 10-11:30 am, with his funeral service to follow at 11:30am at the J.E. Foster Funeral Home in Toronto.   

Doc loved animals throughout his entire life and in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Jefferson County Humane Society.