Leonard Austin Rogers

Leonard A. Rogers, 89, of Lafayette, IN (formerly of Ludlow, IL), passed away on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
A loving husband, brother, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend. He touched the lives of everyone with his kindness, friendship and generosity. He will be deeply missed and fondly remembered by his loved ones and all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Leonard was raised on the family farm in Ludlow, IL with his 11 brothers and sisters. Leonard learned the meaning of hard work at an early age growing up on the farm and was able to start earning his own money as a teenager by baling hay. Leonard also worked at a Coca Cola Bottling Plant, a Mobil service station and fuel oil delivery service and eventually landed a job installing glass in automotive, truck and agricultural applications for Magic Glass in Lafayette, IN, now known as Glass Specialty. Leonard relocated to Lafayette, IN in 1969 to work for Magic Glass and worked that job for 30 years and was able to retire at the age of 62. Leonard was also proud to be a firefighter for Ludlow Volunteer Fire Dept.
In 1957 Leonard married the love of his life Judith A. Klann of Buckley, IL They had three children, Lori Jo Rogers (Cheek) of Lafayette, IN; Lana Sue Rogers (Tennant) of El Dorado Hills, CA and Douglas Austin Rogers (Wife Kathy) of Frankfort, IN.
As a result, all three children eventually married, and Leonard and Judy were blessed with eight grandchildren Jeremy Cheek, Amy Cheek, Katie Rogers, Karl Rogers, Kory Rogers, Kurtis Tennant, Kristin Rogers and Angela Tennant. They were also blessed with five great-granddaughters; Kylie Rogers, Natalie Rogers, Jaylee Rogers, Lucy Rogers and Kara Rogers.
Leonard had a few hobbies. He loved taking care of his lawn to keep his home looking nice, he always enjoyed having nice cars and especially later in his life owned several Cadillacs. He loved those cars and really enjoyed detailing them so he could show them off and let people know how proud he was of them and how hard he worked throughout his life to attain them. He especially loved sports and was huge Indiana University fan and fortunately lived long enough to see the football team win a championship. He loved college basketball and spent many years helping Bobby Knight coach the IU Hoosiers from his recliner. He also loved to watch old westerns and certainly could not get enough of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne or the rifleman. Leonard also loved to play Euchre with his friends and family and very seldom did he lose. Leonard really enjoyed eating good food and one of his sayings was, “Breakfast the best meal of the day” don’t know how anyone could go without it! He also loved having Happy Hour in his garage or on the driveway with friends, neighbors and family telling stories and reminiscing.
In general, Leonard was just a fun person to be around, and people always enjoyed spending time with him. He was always kind to people, never got upset about much of anything and never said anything bad about other people. He will truly be missed!
Leonard is survived by his younger sister Loretta of Rantoul, IL. Leonard was the third youngest of 12 children born to Vern Glenn Rogers and Dixie Mae Rogers (Thompson). Both of which are now deceased. He was also preceded in death by his wife Judy in 2014 and his brothers Ivan, Bernard, Harold, Donald and Howard, as well as his sisters Virginia, Ione, Mary, Ruby and Vera.
Leonard was also preceded in death by two grandsons, Kory Rogers in 2010 (son of Doug and Kathy Rogers) and Jeremy Richard Cheek in 2023 (Son of Rick and Lori Cheek).
A life beautifully lived deserves to be
beautifully remembered!

Memorial contributions in Leonard’s name may be given to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

Visitation will be from 10:00 am until time of service at 11:00 am (EST), Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Soller-Baker, Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twykenham Blvd., Lafayette, IN 47909.
Interment will follow at 1:30 pm (CST) at St. John Lutheran Cemetery in Buckley, Illinois.