

Margaret Moore Rogers was as thoughtful as she was 'zany'


Rain dancer, author, diplomatic hostess, Air Force wife. All of these titles fit for Margaret "Margo" Moore Rogers.

In 1961, Rogers rain-danced her way into the hearts of residents of Laredo, Texas, while she was stationed there with her husband, who was wing commander at the Air Force base. The town was suffering through a three-week dry spell that summer, so Rogers, who had Mohawk blood, offered to do a rain dance to break the drought. It rained for the next four days and prompted the city's Chamber of Commerce to send her a thank-you note.

Rogers, of Altamonte Springs, died in her sleep Wednesday. She was 89.

"People would always say, 'Your mom is zany' or 'eccentric' or 'unconventional,' but she was a special one, and everyone would concur," said her daughter Mary Lou Rogers of Winter Park. "She was zany but very intelligent about it. She was smart like a fox."

Born in Charleston, W.Va., Margaret Rogers graduated from Greenbriar College with a degree in English literature before moving to Orlando, where she met and married her husband, the late Col. Woods W. Rogers Jr. at First Presbyterian Church in Orlando.

The couple settled in College Park before her husband joined the service during World War II. After the war, she raised five children while traveling with her husband during his 27-year career as a pilot.

She served as the "First Lady" of Laredo Air Force Base when her husband was wing commander there and lived in Nicaragua and Panama, where she served as hostess at many diplomatic functions.

"She was supporting her husband's rising career and having tea parties and other functions," her daughter said. "When she was in Nicaragua, she entertained all the ambassadors and the president of the country."

All the while, she raised five children and was a friend to other military wives, especially in times of need.

"She was very thoughtful about other people and their predicaments," her daughter said. "If a new Air Force wife was uncomfortable or having a problem, she would encourage them and make them comfortable. She was extremely gracious and was always thoughtful about the way other people were feeling."

After her husband's retirement, the couple returned to Orlando, and she wrote several short stories that were published in various periodicals, her daughter said.

"She always wanted to write and aspired to be a novelist," her daughter said. "Her short stories always had a little Alfred Hitchcock or Agatha Christie sort of thing with a twist. They were mysterious or surprising."

She also continued to help people by sharing her kindness and money with those in need.

"If she would hear about something from somebody, she would try to help them," her daughter said. "She would give money to the maid's daughter who was having a baby or somebody down the street who needed something. If she could help, she would. She was generous to a fault."

She also is survived by a son, Dr. Woods W. Rogers III of Tampa; two other daughters, Robin R. Andersohn of Longwood and Cheryl A. Rogers of Altamonte Springs; and one grandson.

Baldwin-Fairchild Funeral Home, West Altamonte Chapel in Altamonte Springs is handling arrangements.

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