Kenny Rogers Memorial

“Kenny was my nephew, but he was also my hero. He was Achilles, Horatio at the bridge, and John Paul Jones all rolled in to one. I feel honored to have known and loved him and been loved back by him.

Some people run from the sound of gunfire, some people run to the sound of gunfire. Kenny flew to the sound of gunfire. He was always fearless and first to go in or help in dangerous situations. I think this was instilled in the Rogers family at a young age, many members of our family served in the armed forces, including my maternal grandfather, my father, two of my brothers, and me. In Kenny, the desire to help others and run (fly) headlong into danger was tenfold.”

“The Rogue River Adventure…Bob told me that we were going “rafting” down the Rouge River. So, when we got to Rogue, Bob informed me that there was a change of plans…I was going down the river in a kayak. I had never been in a kayak before! Bob reassured me that it was easy, all I had to do was “paddle side to side.” The first rapid was Graves Creek, a class three rapid. I immediately capsized, and was sucked under a waterfall. Looking up, sucking water into my lungs, I remember praying to God, because I thought that I was on the threshold of death. Kenny reached down, grabbed my life vest by the collar and pulled me to shore. He saved my life that day. I have never forgotten it. (He called me “Arulu Aqua Lung” for some time .) A bystander commented, “that is a hell of a way to learn how to kayak!”

When Steven’s son Paul married Sarah. The reception was held at Steve and Serena’s house down the street from your Grandparents on Soldier Creek Road. In a fine tradition of Roger’s fun, a water fight erupted amongst the Rogers. Ken, aiming for one of his cousins, accidentally nailed Sarah, in her wedding dress, with a five gallon bucked to water! Whoops…welcome to the Rogers family!”

“His daily visits into my office made me giggle and smile. I will never forget Kenny teaching me about corn races, and snarts - Kenny-isms. I will remember so much about him - his crazy humor, his laugh and he was ALWAYS surrounded by friends.”

“Kenny and Crystal were our sponsors when we arrived in Portugal in 2011. I remember well how happy we were to have an old friend greeting us upon our arrival to Lisbon. Kenny took such good care of us - setting up our lodging, arranging connections with a realtor, helping us learn about what would be our new home, Cascais, introducing us to others, taking care of my two boys Luke and Liam while we tried to sort out so many details. Kenny was the U.S. Naval officer who spoke at Anthony’s promotion ceremony while they were working together at the JALLC. I remember so well how touched I was by what Kenny had to say about Anthony and also feeling very happy that it was not just a fellow officer, but an old friend who was helping to present Anthony with his new title of Commander. His words were kind, heartfelt, and so well.”

“This summer we had a family reunion. One of the most important things to me and to Ken, was to get back on that river. White water rafting on the Rogue is something that is in the blood of the Rogers family. These trips always included multiple generations of our family. We, along with our cousins Paul and Mike arranged a rafting trip for anyone in the family who wanted to come along. As we were floating the river in the middle of Hell’s canyon, I looked over at Ken putting sunscreen on Fletcher. I looked back and Mike had his daughter in front of his kayak. Not far away were my cousin Paul and his two sons, all three of them in separate kayaks. I caught up to Ken and said, “Holy sh*t, look around, we’re the adults!””

“One of my favorite memories I have with Kenny is when we were at around the age of 10-12. Our parents took us on a camping trip to Diamond lake…It was the kids job to clean all the fish. It was Kenny, Melissa, Samantha and I… Melissa couldn’t have been more than about 3 or 4… We decided that we would make Melissa eat fish guts! We told her that if she wanted to be part of the cool club she had to do this…Her facial expressions to this day are imprinted in my mind!

I remember visiting Uncle Mike and Aunt Marcia in Port Angeles. They lived by the beach at that time… We kids ran amok that trip…It was Kenny, Julie, Samantha, my step sister Liz, myself and of course little Melissa …our age range was between 15 & 10…We decided it was a great idea to teach Melissa how to cuss. Melissa again must not have been more than about 3 or 4…I get now that I’m a parent, why it’s not such a good idea! Sorry Uncle Mike and Aunt Marcia!”

“Kenny was my oldest and dearest friend. He was so special in so many ways. He was the smartest and wittiest guy I ever met. He was fun, daring, sincere and passionate. He was also my best friend. I learned to appreciate and cherish our friendship because we didn’t get to spend much time with each other while he was abroad.

We had so much fun together living on the beach. We dared the ocean and played all day, rain or shine, laughing along the way. Kenny was always patient with me. He taught me a lot me things in life, like how to tie a knot, how to fly a kite, how play the drums, what to say to a girls and most important how to follow my dreams.

My family loved Kenny and treated him like a son. Don and Mary did the same with me. My dad was always yelling at him to quit stealing his ice cream. He would say, “I’m calling your mom,” which he never did. He was always eating at our house. My mom would constantly make us tacos because Kenny said my moms were the best. We had a vast array of hot sauce and he would try to spike my sister’s tacos with the hottest. I remember Kenny’s fridge only had Coca-Cola, cheese and hot sauce which Mary made the best nachos.

My dad was so impressed by Kenny. He had been accepted to flight school and he told Kenny how proud of him he was for following his dreams, and Kenny said it was a dream come true.

I was invited on a 2 week road trip with Kenny and Crystal to see the sights on the way to flight school in Florida. We started at his Mom and Don’s house in Newport and stopped at his grandpa’s house in Grants Pass. We went to Lake Tahoe next, where I won a jackpot but, I was under age and had run away with two 32oz cups full of quarters leaving most of it behind. Next we hiked the Grand Canyon and ate at the most expensive McDonald’s ever, then to San Antonio river walk, where we participated in a reenactment of Daniel Boone. The next stop was in Corpus Christi and the motel had bugs, sand and creatures in it, so we went to the beach and swam at night, water glowed with our movements and fire flies lit up the sky and there were thousands of crabs on the beach. Next we went to New Orleans where Crystal’s friend Morgan took us in and she showed us what Bourbon Street was all about. We ended up at a gator farm in Florida and I headed home and they went on to Key West. It was the best trip ever with my two favorite people.

It was an honor to be asked by Kenny to be the best man in his wedding. We always had a special bond. Kenny always looked out for me like a big brother even though he was half my size. That week really solidified our relationship. I realized we were lifelong best friends. I would always support him as he would me.

After my dad passed on, Kenny called me and said that he was there for me if I ever needed him. Kenny was strong and sensitive at the same time. He made me feel better when he talked to me. He said he was so proud of me that I started my own business and he knew I would be successful and strong like my dad. He said my dad had a positive impact on his life also. I always admired Kenny and for him to say he was proud of me meant everything to me!

We were lifelong best friends. Follow your dreams like Kenny Rogers and have no regrets!”

“From little boys to adults, my cousin and good friend Ken always knew how to make me laugh. At times I laughed so hard that my beverage, usually milk, would come running out of my nose. Ken would intentionally make me laugh as I was drinking with the full knowledge of this embarrassing problem of mine. Ken always had the most cunning ideas of how to pull off the best pranks and practical jokes. They, as seen from the eyes of a boy, were always well thought out, planned out appropriately and executed with precision and sometimes teamwork.

Ken lived a few doors down from the beach house that I spent a lot of time at as a boy. I was always so excited to see Ken when we arrived with the full understanding that the weekend, or longer, would result in some of the best laughs of my life. However, the potential of deep trouble from our parents always loomed in the back of our minds. I arrived one day to find Ken watching a Seattle Seahawks game with Don (Ken’s Step Dad). After the game, we quickly grabbed our fishing gear, some bait, and headed to the point where we liked to fish. Once on the rocks and bait in the water, I decided to dare Ken to do something that I will never forget. The bait that we were using was sand shrimp. A delicacy to the fish, I’m sure, but most disgusting to you and me. After daring him to eat one, for one dollar, he grimaced and said “no way”. After some coaxing and name calling, he finally agreed. He asked if he could pull off the pinchers and chase it with a Coke, and with great excitement I answered “yes”. As Ken lowered the unappetizing sea creature into his mouth I could hear the crunching sound reverberate between his teeth. I will never forget this sound and how it made me feel (both excited and nauseas). His face showed signs of the latter. Resounding laughter ensued. Not long after, we decided to head back to our house to collect his dollar. As we walked in the front door, I kindly asked my mom for an advance on my allowance. I think that this dare was rooted in the lingering, repulsive taste that was in my mouth from the soap on my toothbrush that Ken had swathed on it, probably the night before.

Ken and I were always drawn to the ocean and spent most of our time on the beach, fishing or body boarding. Doing anything boring was absolutely not an option. Even if it meant that the fate of another friend was in our sights. Donny Bacon was a mutual friend of ours and lived just up the street from Ken. One day I succumbed to Ken’s wishes to snipe Donny and his friends on the beach with a BB gun. Hiding on top of a small dune surrounded in bushes, we volleyed rounds in the direction of the other boys, who quickly decided that they were being stung by bees. After approximately 60 seconds they discovered us on the “grassy knoll” and the pursuit began. Ken and I weaved through the paths in the trees as fast as we could run, sometimes hiding deep in the bushes as the other boys ran by, then backtracking to make it back to the safety of one of our houses. I have never been so scared of physical harm in my life. We made it back to our Grandparents house and calmly peered out of the windows in fear. Soon after, our respective mothers came to the house asking what had happened on the beach. There was no getting out of this one, although there were several other instances that we did get out of that will always stay between Ken and me. At times, after we started families and moved to the next step in our lives, I would think back to the days at the beach and wonder how we survived. I still laugh uncontrollably at moments of exhilaration, comedy and fear. It is now easier to time the laughs between drinks of milk.

Ken and I will always remain close in memory. I love you, Kenny”