Letha Rogers

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Letha Marie Rogers, 94, died peacefully Thursday afternoon, Aug. 12, 2021.

She was born in Ceder Bottom, Madison County, Missouri, Sept. 19, 1926, to parents Avery and Jane Green. Letha and her identical twin sister, Linda, were the youngest of eight children. Her siblings were Buford, Beulah, Lloyd, Leamon, Harry, Dottie and Linda.

Growing up on a farm with a large family taught her the value of hard work and perseverance during her early years. Family gatherings in Missouri with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins happened almost every summer. Memories of a lifetime for the city kids from up north.

In 1942, Letha "Lee" moved to Detroit and lived with her sister, Beulah, and husband, George. She married Harley Hanson in 1943 and lived for a time at the Army airfield base in Salina, Kansas. She started her family in Michigan at the age of 17 and raised five children: Richard (Jan), Paul (Sandy), Terri (Jim), Mark (Debbie) and Ken (Dana). Harley passed away in 1977.

During World War II, she worked on military aircraft at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She worked for many years as a licensed beautician in Michigan. Later, while living in Ventura, California, she worked in a beauty salon alongside her twin sister, Linda.

Lee had a passion for photography and made it an art form. She used oil paints on black and white prints to create color portraits. She was the family historian, taking photographs and movies of her children's birthdays and special events. She presented each of her adult children with full-length movies she had spliced together and large photo albums documenting birthdays, holidays and special events. Memories preserved forever.

She was an accomplished seamstress. She could make anything. She loved to sew, knit or crochet and really enjoyed making all kinds of outfits for her grandchildren.

Lee's artistic talents included bringing her handmade porcelain dolls to life with paint and clothing. As her grandchildren grew older, her doll collection grew bigger until it numbered in the hundreds. She named each one of them and called them her babies.

In 1975, Lee married her childhood sweetheart, Larry Rogers. Together they began a new chapter in life as they traveled together, living in Oklahoma, Michigan, California, Georgia, Missouri and, finally, Arizona. Larry passed away in 2007.

Lee was a very proud and loving "Mamaw" to nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, as well as a number of bonus grand- and great-grandchildren by family marriages. For her, there could never be enough babies, love or laughter in the family.

A gathering of family and friends to celebrate her life will be announced at a later date.