Leone Rogers

Our deeply loved and cherished aunt, cousin, and friend, Leone Rogers, finished her earthly life on Sunday, July 14, 2024. She lived a full and rewarding 94 years focused on service to others, and peacefully passed away of natural causes with family by her side.

She was born on April 2, 1930, to Orlean Briggs and Lee L. Rogers in Salt Lake City, Utah, the 2nd child of 4 very close siblings, Donna Weldon, Erma Bardsley, and Jerry Rogers, all of whom preceded Leone in death. Throughout their lives, Leone and her siblings watched out for each other and provided support and care whenever needed. They gathered on holidays as an extended family and loved spending time in the canyons or someone’s backyard to share a meal and visit. Traveling together was something they loved, in places like Myrtle Beach South Carolina, Branson Missouri, San Diego California, and on an Alaskan cruise. In their later years they would often talk on the phone daily with one another and kept each other company.

When Leone was a child she lived in the sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City - near Dunford Bakery. Their home was small and homey, on a quiet street with friends nearby for her and her siblings to play with. They had a dog named Skippy that she loved. Leone and her sisters loved to play together, and when their younger brother, Jerry, was born they loved to take care of him. Growing up during the Great Depression made it necessary for them to create their own fun by playing Hide-and-Seek, Red Rover, and Mother-may-I.

Leone loved to go to her grandparents’ home in Bountiful for Sunday dinners. Frank Briggs and his wife Elizabeth Holbrook would have all their children and grandchildren over to share a large meal, after which everyone would find a spot to lie down for an afternoon rest. Later on, they would make homemade ice cream as a special treat, but Leone remembered that everyone had to take a turn turning the crank that helped freeze the ice cream.

Leone attended East High School, and after she graduated, she got a job working at the police station where her father worked, doing secretarial work. Later she got a job working at the Bell Telephone company as an operator. She was a hard worker and was determined to make a career for herself. Before long she was promoted to Trainer, and then to Manager, and traveled around the mountain west training others in the company. Eventually she became an Executive and was very highly respected in the company. She enjoyed the many friendships she developed during her time at work, many of which lasted the rest of her life.

Leone met Ellenor Bernsten, Mike, at the phone company when they were just starting out, and they spent the rest of their lives together. They shared the same friends and liked to travel together, visiting, among other places, China, Germany, and France. They enjoyed the opera, symphony, ballet, and watching the Utah Jazz basketball games. They both loved to bowl, and they played on a bowling league together.

Because Leone loved people, she helped run a social group for retired Bell employees and ran a monthly Bingo game. She was great at organizing and enjoyed serving with friends on the HOA board of her condo community for many years.

Leone and Mike both retired from the telephone company in their 50s, as the company changed hands, and were offered wonderful retirement packages. They stayed very connected to their friends there and spent several more decades working with the Bell Telephone Pioneers’ service organization.

Serving others brought great joy to Leone, and she sought out opportunities to help those in need. She was a driving force in the project to provide Christmas stockings filled with gifts and necessities for needy children for nearly 20 years. Each stocking was big enough to provide a nice Christmas for the child that received it, and was often accompanied with a larger gift, like a scooter. There were many years that Leone’s group provided 500 - 600 stockings for the community. She also helped supply the Candy Cane store with gifts, which allowed needy parents to hand-pick gifts for their children.

Her nieces and nephews were always an important part of Leone’s life, and she was their favorite aunt. Leone always remembered her family members with a Birthday Card with money tucked inside, which almost always arrived on their birthday. No small task! She started the Holiday tradition of giving her nieces and nephews a Hallmark Christmas ornament every year, along with a book they would like. Those ornaments decorate many trees, now, and the memories will last many of us a lifetime. She also remembered the great-nieces and great-nephews for as long as she could. Her own Christmas tree was decorated with beautiful gold ornaments, which she also shared with family when she gave up decorating a tree for herself.

When Timeshare was brand new, Leone and Mike bought into the idea and shared many of their weeks with extended family members at Bear Lake. Those trips created strong family bonds between cousins, and memorable, fun times for the adults, too. Leone loved attending family reunions to connect with loved ones, and always looked forward to lunches with her cousins and friends. She had plenty of love to share and included her closest friends in her family circle. They brought her lots of companionship, laughter, and joy.

Leone was very independent, and lived in her own home until she was over 90 years old. She faced one of her most difficult times during the last few years of her life. Dementia took her words from her, so it was hard to joke with someone or give them a kind word. She was no longer able to take people out to eat or have a good talk together. Nevertheless, she was always happy to see people and enjoyed their visits. She gracefully and courageously kept a smile on her face, and suppressed the frustrations of her daily life so she would not worry those who came to see her. She loved watching people and birds and trying to make others happy with a smile or a little laugh. She made this world a better place clear to the end, and blessed many of us with her love, kindness, and generous spirit. We love her and will always remember her great example to each of us. God bless you, Leone, until we meet again.

Family and friends may pay their respects to Leone at a reception at 11:00 am, Saturday, July 27th at Memorial Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery, 3115 E. 7800 S, Cottonwood Height, UT, 84121. Graveside service will follow at Noon.