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Father’s Day Special: Ashley Rogers’ Touching Tribute to Her Late Father Loring

Loring Rogers and his little diamond stars Andrew and Ashley, who would go on to great athletic and academic success.

Ashley Rogers from Athens, Tennessee is one of the top pitchers in the country and recently repeated as the Gatorade State Player of the Year, was highly ranked in the Extra Inning Softball Elite 100 (2018 class) and again this spring won a state title for her Meigs County High team.

Next week she will also be recognized as an Extra Inning Sports High School All-American.

The Rogers family–Andrew, Lynda, Ashley and Loring–at a Tennessee football game. Ashley committed to the homestate Vols in March of 2016 and nine months later her father would be gone.

Ashley realized a life-long dream when she committed to the Tennessee Vols to play softball in March of 2016, but just nine months later her world would be rocked when her father, Loring, suddenly passed away from a heart attack just two weeks before Christmas. He was only 52 years old.

From all accounts, Loring Rogers was an amazing man.

His wife, Lynda, wrote us just a week after his passing: “The family received friends for four hours, while an estimated 1,000 people waited to pay their respects in a line that wrapped around the church and into the street. The outpouring was a testimony of how many lives he had impacted.”

The proud dad with his daughter as Ashley receives a softball award in 2016

Ashley’s father was heavily involved in sports as he coached boys’ and girls’ basketball teams and was an assistant coach for travel baseball, travel softball and golf teams from elementary to high school.

Both Ashley and her older brother, Andrew, would have great athletic success as each won state championships in basketball, Ashley won multiple titles ins softball and Andrew’s baseball and golf titles also won championships at the state level.

The two children were also excellent in the classroom—Andrew, who is three years older than his sister, graduated Valedictorian and started college with a full academic scholarship; Ashley also was a Valedictorian and finished high school with a 4.0 GPA.

Loring Rogers was so dedicated to seeing his children reach their athletic goals, he built a gym and a softball field on the family’s farm, so his kids—and all those he would coach—would have somewhere to practice.

“Hundreds of his former players came (to the funeral) heartbroken and reminisced about how passionate he was about sports and working hard to be your best,” recalls Lynda.

Loring was an Electrical Engineer and Manager at Tennessee Valley Authority where he worked for 30 years, his entire career.

“Hundreds of his co-workers came to tell us how much they respected him for his passion about his family and his faith,” his wife continued.

The happy Rogers family after Ashley won a state softball title in 2016.

We’ve spoken to several people, including Ralph Weekly, Ashley’s future coach at the University of Tennessee, about Loring Rogers and everyone said the same thing: he was a remarkable man and loving father.

For this Father’s Day, we thought it would be poignant and important for everyone to know of Loring’s story and asked Ashley to reminisce and explain exactly what it was that made her dad so special to so many people—especially to her—and the lessons we can ALL learn from him.

Here is her beautiful tribute to him…

*****

December 11, 2016.

It was just like any other Sunday, we were all up and getting dressed to go to church. Dad had already gone ahead to make coffee, pass out bulletins, and prepare each classroom for Sunday School – chores he had faithfully done every Sunday for as long as I can remember.

A young Ashley with her father.

We were about to head out the door when Mom got a phone call from Dad. He said he was walking down the stairs when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest that took him to the floor.

He said, “I can barely breathe… I think I am having a heart attack.”

We rushed to the church and, upon arrival, found Dad at the bottom of the staircase on his knees, gasping for breath. Other church members had found him and already called the ambulance minutes before we arrived.

I stood there and watched Mom hold up his head and struggle to keep him awake and breathing. The minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive seemed more like hours. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance arrived, and a stretcher was brought inside to where he lay.

As we were all lifting him on the stretcher, he took his final breath.

The paramedics tried to revive him in the ambulance, and the doctors attempted to numerous times again at the hospital, but he never came back.

Ashley remembers her father as a one who lived his life in Christ-like service.

I honestly do not remember too much from the days following the tragic event, which were primarily occupied with my grandparents (Dad’s parents) and my family arranging the funeral. We were all numb, hoping to wake up and find it was all just a nightmare; however, as the hours crept by, we realized this morbid reality was true and inescapable.

One thing I do remember, though, was that during these difficult days, my family was uplifted in numerous ways by many people. The support, love, and prayers from our friends was not showered, but rather down-poured upon us.

The “bubble of prayer” that encompassed my family and I kept us going and comforted us through these difficult times.

One common theme of the 1,000 who came to pay their respects: Loring Rogers loved his family more than anything.

It was Wednesday, December 14—the day of the funeral had arrived. Puffy-eyed, quiet, sleep-deprived, tired of crying: that was the mood on the way to church. None of us wanted to cry more or for people see us like this.

Little did we know that after the night was over, a sense of pride would outweigh our care for our physical conditions and appearances.

We pulled into the church parking lot and saw a line of people already forming at the door – AN HOUR BEFORE VISITATION!

As the minutes went by, more people began to line up at the door. When the doors were finally opened at 4:30, a huge line of people filed in to pay their respects to my family and me.

A coach in addition to everything else he did, Ashley and Andrew’s father, built a gym and a field so his children and players could have a play to practice.

For the next four hours, over 1,000 visitors flooded in to see us. It was about 36 degrees and raining that night, but that did not stop anyone. Hundreds waited for hours in the wind, rain, and cold just to honor my father.

As the people came by, so did the testimonies of the impact my dad had on so many people.

People he worked with told me that he had helped them out when they could not make ends meet. Many spoke of his Christ-like character and his unwavering stand for what was right.

I met people from every part of his life, and each person said he impacted his/her life for the better. We always joked that Dad had never met a stranger, but little did we know that his outgoing personality had such an impact on so many people.

However, the thing I heard the most that night was how much he talked about my family and how proud he was of me. Each person he worked with said his kids were all he talked about, and the way his face would light up when he spoke of us was indescribable.

People I had never met or seen in my life knew everything about me, from my accomplishments on the field to my personality and appearance, solely from how much Dad talked about me.

One person said, “He had so much to be proud of in his life, but there was nothing he was prouder of than you two (my brother and me).”

The turnout of the funeral was clear evidence of the greatness of the legacy he left behind. I hugged over 1,000 people that night, and almost every single person spoke of his positive influence, and how it was an honor and blessing to just know him.

I could not agree more, but they will never know how honored and proud I was, and still am, to be his daughter.

Just like any other father/daughter pair, we did not always get along. Both of us were hard-headed perfectionists that did not like to be wrong. He would get on to me for a lot of things, on and off the field.

Says Ashley: “I did not see it then, but he was forming me into the person and athlete I am today.”

I always hated getting in the car after a bad tournament or game, because I knew I would get lectured to the whole way home. I did not see it then, but he was forming me into the person and athlete I am today.

If it were not for him and his constant push for me to get better, I would not be going to the University of Tennessee to play softball. He taught me how to truly work hard for what you want, and to never become satisfied with what you have already achieved, for you can ALWAYS get better.

However, during these lectures, I would always roll my eyes and say in my head, “I am not going to miss these.” I could not have been more wrong. I would give so much just to get chewed out by him again, for I most definitely took it for granted.

Sadly, I could not see it then, but he was my biggest supporter. He was not mad because I did not play well, but rather because he knew I did not give my best. That is something I have carried throughout every aspect of my life – never be satisfied and always give your best.

The biggest impact he had my life, though, was his Christ-likeness. He touched the life of every person he met, and he always put others before himself. He lived his life for Christ and gave God the credit for all his accomplishments. He taught me to always put Christ first in my life, and to lean on Him every step of the way.

I did not always show it while he was with us, but I pray Dad knew how much I loved him and how thankful I was for him. I took for granted all the sacrifices he made for me, big and small.

I took for granted the wisdom and knowledge he possessed of sports and life. Now that he is gone, I have realized that all he wanted was to see his children succeed, be happy, and live for Christ, and I hope I have and will continue to fulfill his wish.

Happy Fathers’ Day in heaven, Dad… I love you.

Ashley

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