Joseph "Joe" Aloysius Rogers, 94, of Elizabethtown, passed away Monday, January 23, 2023, at his home with his family around him.. He was born in Howardstown, Ky, the fourth child of eleven, to Joseph "Leonard" and Mary "Pauline" Whelan Rogers. Joe lived a very full life. He pursued dirt track auto racing with a degree of local fame at racetracks in Hodgenville, Frankfort, and Taylor County. He was driver and mechanic, body man and pit crew, strategist and daredevil. Self-described as "a jack of all trades, and a master of none," at 15 his first employment was for the L & N Railroad in Louisville, Ky., doing odd jobs. At 18, Joe joined the Army and was in the 82nd Airborne during WWII where he completed his GED; he was discharged in 1947. In his lifetime machinery mechanic at Barton Distillery, a school bus and concrete truck driver, an auto mechanic, and a civil service worker at Fort Knox. He sold insurance; worked construction; spot-welded side panels on 1949 Mercury and Lincolns in a Detroit auto factory; laid water lines in New Haven, Ky; and welded furnace steam pipes at Eielson Air Base near Fairbanks, Alaska. Over his lifetime, he proudly and selflessly donated 30 gallons of blood, twice receiving special recognition from the American Red Cross. He was named a Kentucky Colonel in 1984 and was a member of the American Legion Post 113 of Elizabethtown. In addition to his parents, Joe is preceded in death by five brothers, Joseph "Paul" Rogers, William "Bill" Rogers, James Vincent Rogers, John Alphonsus "Al" Rogers, and Charles Edward "Ed" Rogers, and by one sister, Elizabeth "Lib" Marie Daniels. The mischievous twinkle in his eyes will be sorely missed by his survivors which include his loving wife of 65 years, Louise Watson Rogers; one son, Joseph "Butch" Boone; three daughters, Diana Yates (Joe), Joella Spataro (Chuck); and Tammy Bird (Kenny); four grandchildren, Jennifer Bowman (Kevin), Sara Jo Willyard (John), Lee Bird, and Matt Bird; two great grandchildren, Colton and Noelle Kimmes; four sisters, Dorothy "Jean" Ryan, Mary "Martha" Ward, Alice Josephine "Jo" Faulkner, and Mary Juliana "Julie" Hardesty; numerous nieces, nephews and extended family; and long-time friends Norman and Rita Irwin. A funeral mass for Mr. Rogers will be Friday at 1 p.m. at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 609 Main Street in Cecilia, with Father Benedict Brown officiating. Burial will follow in Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens. Visitation is from 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday and continue after 10 a.m. Friday at Brown Funeral Home, 306 College Street, Elizabethtown. Condolences may be expressed at brownfuneral.com.

Visitation:

Thursday, January 26, 2023 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Brown Funeral Home

Service:

Friday, January 27, 2023 starting at 1:00 PM
St. Ambrose Catholic Church