Janice Lavena Rogers

Janice Lavena Rogers, 85, passed away on May 10, 2022, in Las Cruces, NM with her children by her side. Jan was born on July 9, 1936, in Cheyenne, OK, where she was raised and attended school. Throughout her school years, one of her favorite activities was playing "3-on-3" girls' basketball for the Cheyenne Bears. Jan was married before her senior year of high school in 1953 to Jack Wesley Jones, who was a teacher and the boys basketball coach at Cheyenne High School. Over the next 4 years, Jan and Jack had three children, Jack Wesley, Teddye Carol, and Shari Jean. In the summer of 1963, the family moved to Roswell, NM to be closer to Jan's extended family who had relocated to southern New Mexico. After losing her husband to a sudden illness a few months after moving to Roswell, Jan relocated to Las Cruces, where she took on the role of single mother to her three young children and began taking classes at New Mexico State University. The classes were put on hold when Jan began working full-time in NMSU's Registrar's office in 1964. She worked in various campus departments until her retirement in 1988, including 12 years in the Department of Athletics as administrative assistant to the Director of Athletics. She referred to the time she worked in Athletics as the most rewarding and enjoyable of her career. Jan returned to the classroom while working at NMSU and completed the requirements for an Associate degree in the College of Arts & Sciences. In 1968, Jan was blessed a second time when she married George Truitt "Toke" Rogers, who was her caring and steadfast partner and father to her children until his death in 2017. One of the many things that bound the family together was their shared love of sports. The family attended NMSU basketball games played in the Las Cruces High School gym in the mid-1960s and has had the same season tickets in the Pan American Center since it opened in 1968. In addition to the Aggies, the family shared a love of baseball, specifically the Houston Astros, whose games Jan rarely missed on TV. Jan and Toke loved to travel and often added Aggies or Astros games to their itineraries. Favorite destinations included Alaska and anywhere they could see the sun set from a beach. Jan leaves behind her son and daughter-in-law, Jack and Theresa Jones of Las Cruces and their two sons-Doran Jones of Los Angeles, CA and Troy Jones of Las Cruces; her daughters, Teddye Jones and Shari Jones, both of Las Cruces; and her granddaughter, Mauri Weidenaar and her husband Mark of Rio Rancho, NM. She was the proud and loving "Me-Mom" to Mauri and Mark's children-Zoey Janice and Truitt Richard. Jan was the "fun" aunt to many of her nieces and nephews who maintained special relationships with her throughout her life, as did their children. Jan was preceded in death by her first husband, Jack Jones, in November 1963, her second husband, Toke Rogers, in November 2017, her parents, Clarence and Pauline Vincent of Truth or Consequences, NM, her sister and brother-in-law, Jean and Jack Gillette of Wichita, KS, and her brother and sister-in-law, C.L. and Virginia Vincent of Truth or Consequences, NM. A family memorial will be held in San Diego later in the summer for both Jan and Toke and it will, undoubtedly, include a beach sunset. Memorials may be given to the NMSU 6th Man Club, c/o NMSU Foundation Inc. Attn: Gift Processing; P.O. Box 3590; Las Cruces, NM 88003-3590. Arrangements are with Getz Funeral Home 1410 E. Bowman Ave., Las Cruces NM 88001. Please visit www.GetzCares.com to sign the local online guest book.