WILLIAMSBURG — Robert Emmet “Bob” Rodgers Sr., 89, peacefully passed away Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, surrounded by his family.
Robert was born July 31, 1932, in Pittsburgh, Pa., son of the late Edward Leo and Wilhelmina Schnippert Rodgers. Bob was the youngest of six children.
Bob attended North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. He joined the Army in 1953. He served in the Korean War as a corporal until 1955. After the war, he attended Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. He joined Sigma Nu fraternity and earned a B.A. Degree in Business Economics in 1959. Bob joined The Hoover Company in 1959 as a field auditor based in Kansas City, Mo. On a blind date, he met his future wife. He married Nancy Sue McAdoo on Dec. 26, 1960, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Brookfield, Mo.
While with The Hoover Company, Bob held various positions with the Fortune 500 company moving from Kansas City to St. Louis, Fort Worth, San Francisco and Los Angeles. While working, he earned an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., in 1980. Bob was promoted and relocated to headquarters in Canton, Ohio, as national merchandising manager in 1983, and then promoted to national sales manager in 1987. After retiring from Hoover in 1991, he joined Matsushita Electric Corporation, a division of Panasonic.
Finally retiring to Williamsburg in 1996, he became a member of Saint Bede Catholic Church and served as an usher. He was active in the Ford’s Colony Theater Club, serving as president, and a member of the Car Enthusiasts in Ford’s Colony. Bob was a real estate owner, in both commercial and residential property, in California, Ohio and Williamsburg. Bob had a “can-do” attitude and worked as a hobbyist in carpentry and enjoyed restoring Mercedes-Benz cars.
He was preceded in death by his siblings, James J. Rodgers, Edward Leo Rodgers, Grace (Rodgers) Baldauf, Patricia (Rodgers) Sample and Mary Jane (Rodgers) Grossman.
Bob will be fondly remembered and sadly missed by his family; his wife of over 60 years, Nancy (McAdoo) Rodgers; eldest son, Shawn Kevin Rodgers; daughter, Caitlin Ann Rodgers; youngest son, Robert Emmet (Dawn) Rodgers Jr.; and two grandchildren, Hale Rodgers and Mae Rodgers. He was also blessed to be uncle Bob to numerous nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass, presided by Monsignor William H. Carr, will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, Aug. 13, at Saint Bede Catholic Church, 3686 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg. The funeral Mass will be livestreamed at bedeva.org.
In lieu of flowers please, consider donations to Williamsburg House of Mercy, 10 Harrison Ave., Williamsburg, VA 23185; or Saint Bede Catholic Church, 3686 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg, VA 23188.
Share online condolences with the family at Nelsen Funeral Home.
