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"We regret to announce the passing of Edward William Rodgers, Jr. We extend our condolences and prayers to the family during this time.Edward William Rodgers, Jr. was born on September 25, 1923 to the late Serilda and Edward William Rodgers Sr. in McBee, SC. E.W. as he was affectionately called by friends and family, was the eldest child born of this union. He departed this life at his home on July 8, 2021 at the age of 97.At a young age in Mc Bee, E.W. learned to do various odd jobs while gaining the knowledge that hard work pays off. He, being the eldest, took on the responsibility to care for his younger siblings by encouraging education as a factor for a better life and opportunity. As E.W. grew older, he set his sights on joining the military. He enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II at the age of 17 - months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Assigned to a troop transport ship, the USS Crescent City, as a steward’s mate, he was trained to man his battle stations during numerous drills for enemy air attacks and sea combats, including: the liberation of the Philippines, consolidation of the southern Solomon Islands, Okinawa, Guadalcanal,Guam and Leyte. He also saw operations in Australia, Japan and China.Shortly after leaving the Navy, he married Ethel Mae Murphy and had two sons – Edward III (Chuck) and Vincent (Von) both born in McBee, SC. They subsequently migrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1950 where three additional children were born – Donald, Celeste and Kevin.He worked a long tenure with the Veteran Administration (VA) New York Harbor Health Care System Hospital and received his HVAC certification to become a refrigeration engineer. He served as a shop steward and later as President of the local union AFGE 2094. He retired from the VA in 1985 after 39 years of service. Although retired, he did home improvement jobs for many years. E.W. enjoyed taking his sons to work with him and showing them what his daily workday entailed. Living in Brooklyn during the 1960s, E.W. was an advocate in community service. He managed a little league team in Bedford-Stuyvesantcalled – Stuyford Little League. In the 1970s E.W. participated in educating the youth about the abuse of drugs and its effects and how to avoid them. The organization was called the Self Help Unit on Narcotics (S.H.U.N) which was an assisted recovery home for substanceabusers and about educating our youth. He loved to travel with family and friends coordinating trips to Montreal and Toronto in Canada and visited Germany and Denmark in Europe and various states throughout the United States.After their retirement E.W. and Ethel returned to McBee to live a more leisurely life where he walked daily, raised enoughvegetables in his garden to give away to neighbors and continued his quest to successfully document his family rootsback to pre-civil war times. His love for Nascar races took him to several racetracks across the East coast. He is survived by his beloved wife of 74 years, Ethel Mae Rodgers, the loving mother of his five children, Edward III andDianne (Carr) Rodgers of Jamaica, NY, Vincent Rodgers of McBee, SC, Donald Sr. and Deborah (Byrdsong) Rodgers ofWoodbridge, VA, Celeste (Rodgers) Baker and Douglas Alston of Greenville, SC, and Kevin and Lena (Jensen) Rodgers ofCopenhagen, Denmark. The true joys of his life were his 11 grandchildren (Aaron, Jessica, Rita, Tasha, Lakisha, Donica,Donald Jr, Janelle, Winston (Alex), Nija and Blake and his 17 great grandchildren (Arahna, Laurie, Larry, Lincoln, Soraia,Sonora, Layla, Alexis, Elisha, Donald III, Noah, Arabella, Atallia, Avery, Noralis, Emelina, and AJ (Alejandro) whomthey all called Papa.E.W. leaves a host of brothers (Thomas Rodgers and Exodus Rodgers), sisters (Lettie McLean, Mary (McLean) Andrews,Sarah (Rodgers) Thompson, Ella Sue Wooten, and Alice Odom), nieces, nephews, in-laws and friends. He joins his siblings Bennie Rodgers, Robert Rodgers, Rose Rodgers, Theodore Rodgers, James Rodgers, Christine Rodgers, Gloria Sutton, Willie Nichols, Edward Rodgers, Jr, Florence (Rodgers) McCoy and Martha Rodgers."
<https://www.yandyfh.com/obituaries/Edward-William-Rodgers-Jr?obId=21640156>