Troy Rodgers Sr., a generous, kind-hearted, quiet, caring man, was the son of the late Mildred Blackwell Rodgers and Adoiphus A. Rodgers. He was born on Feb. 11, 1938 in Baltimore, Md. He departed on Nov. 14, 2012, at Veterans Medical Center, after battling “with fierce determination” many illnesses including a kidney transplant, a stroke and cancer.
Troy attended School #139 and Dunbar High School, after which he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1955 at the age of 17.
He was a staff sergeant, serving for 12 years as an electronics technician repairing radar and radios on airplanes, some so difficult that he was the only one able to fix them. He served a tour of duty in Vietnam before his honorable discharge in 1967. Troy was a lifetime member of the American Legion Post #213.
Troy married Theresa Robinson Rodgers, after a very short courtship, on Nov. 13, 1959. They were married for 53 years. From this union a son, Troy Rodgers Jr., was born on July 4, 1961.
Troy was employed from 1967 by the United States Postal Service (after a short stint at the Social Security Administration) until his retirement in April, 1986, due to illness.
He loved jazz, collecting hundreds of albums and CDs. He travelled to many jazz concerts with the Jazz Expressways, of which he was a member, until recent illness.
Although, Troy did not attend church on a regular basis, he wold visit New Shiloh Baptist Church whenever he was able. He read the Bible through its entirety.
Troy is survived by his wife, Theresa R. Rodgers; son, Troy Rodgers Jr.; his father, Adolphus Rodgers; daughter-in-law, Lynette Rodgers; two grandsons, Troy Rodgers III and Aaron Rodgers; great-granddaughter, Skye Elle Rodgers; two great-grandsons, Troy Rodgers IV and Cameron Solomon; sisters-in-law, Gladys N. Guy, Vernice Robinson and Carolyn Rodgers; aunts, Janice, Jewell and Barbara Blackwell and Gwendolyn Smith; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and good neighbors. A brother, Adolphus Rodgers, preceded Troy in death.