Cecil Johnnie Rogers

Cecil was born in Stillwater, Minnesota to Elias and Marilyn Rogers. He was one of six children. Cecil went to St. Paul School until 8th grade and dropped out to work and help at home. Once of age, he was drafted to the United States Army, where he did basic training at Fort Lennon, Missouri. He then moved to Fort Bliss, Texas where he served 6 years from 1970-1976, honorably discharged and got his GED. He went to work for North Star Steel where he worked his way up to supervisor. During this time, he moved to Onamia, North Branch and ended up settling in Harris, Minnesota and getting married and buying the farm in 1987. He built a farm with donkeys, cows, horses, goats and pigs, and enjoyed baling his own hay. He also enjoyed riding and teaching his children how to ride donkeys and horses. He would always say, "A horse is the best babysitter." He liked a good old fashioned barn dance and would be the first to spin you around the dance floor. Cecil enjoyed tinkering in his shop. He loved to go to auctions as a hobby and get ideas of things he could make himself. He built a sleigh he could hook up to the horses and take his daughter on sleigh rides in the winter among building many other things over the years. Cecil was very talented and could make or fix just about anything out of steel. He was a hard worker and remodeled the old farm a piece at a time. If and when he did sit down, he would enjoy watching an old western movie or reading a western book. Cecil always had a passion for history and loved telling stories. At age 55, he retired from North Star Steel and started traveling to Arizona in 2014 for the winter months. This became his yearly passion to escape the cold winter months, and he would come back in the spring. Cecil and his uncle Richard explored every road they could find in the Wickenburg Desert and when they explored them, they would make their own adventures. Cecil was the leader and adventurous one in the desert. He made a community of friends in Arizona who he will be greatly missed by. But his ultimate pride and joy in life was his daughter Rebecca and her three daughters Morgan, Emma and Abigail. He always enjoyed their company cooking for them or taking them shopping or picking apples from his trees. He loved when they visited Arizona with him. He never missed sending them valentines and birthday cards all their lives. "He was the best father to me and "granddad", that he liked to call himself to his granddaughters, and Rebecca made sure he knew that in his last moments on this earth, as he was held in her arms, he told her, "I love you kid till the end of time". "I love you forever dad, you were my go-to guy for everything my heart will be forever lost without you! Love, Rebecca "

He is preceded in death by his Parents Elias and Marilyn Rogers and his brother Lee Rogers.

Survived by daughters, Rebecca (Tyler) Johnson, Jill (Matt) Banaszewski and Kelly (Jeff) Nelson;

grandchildren, Morgan, Emma, and Abigail Johnson, Mackenzie and Madison Banaszewski, David (Rebecca), Alex (Zach), and Sarah Nelson; great-grandchildren, William and James Nelson;

and many other uncles, aunts, cousins and friends.