TOP PHOTO: Lois Rogers formed friendships with many of the priests and parish personnel across the Diocese. She is seen here pausing by the casket of Msgr. Joseph Shenrock while covering his funeral Mass in 2017 as a freelancer for The Monitor.
By Rayanne Bennett, Associate Publisher
We were in the final stages of publishing the March issue of this magazine when we learned of the passing of Lois Rogers, a truly beloved member of this Monitor family. In the month that has passed, we have paid our respects to our former colleague by telling her story in her obituary and during the Memorial Mass that Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated in her honor.
And it was in the preparation for these remembrances that some of us owned up to a bit of astonishment as we took in the full measure of Lois’ many accomplishments and experiences during her 30-year career as a journalist, the last 10 spent working among us in the Diocese of Trenton. It isn’t that we didn’t know these things at some point . . . but they had fallen off the radar in lieu of new assignments, new stories and whatever she was going to cook next for her blog “Keeping the Feast.”
I remember thinking that her work station was just outside the door of my office for so many years and we just didn’t talk about her interview of the Dalai Lama or her experience of covering the visits of Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. She mentioned her pets – her rabbit and cats that had the run of the house – the latest art exhibit or play she wanted to attend. She was a quiet and humble legend among us, and we are all the better for having known her.
It seems to happen more than it should that people come and go in our lives without our really knowing their full stories. This may be the case with our own elderly family members who lived through extraordinary times that we may never fully comprehend. I often think of this with my own grandchildren who will probably never know they are the great-great-grandchildren of my grandmother, who came to America from Italy when she was only 1 year old. And that she was the eldest of 10 children born here in the United States.
We all have stories – some amazing, some painful, some inspiring. And it is a blessing when we can share these stories with one another to foster understanding, strengthen our identity, and gain a fuller perspective of our world. Like Lois, we here at The Monitor consider it an honor to share so many stories with our readers each month in the magazine and each day on TrentonMonitor.com.
We invite you to read the stories we have prepared for you this month, including the most important of all – our Easter story. We all play a part in this story and we are blessed beyond measure to be able to share it with one another.
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