James "Jim" Charles Rogers

James Charles Rogers of Apex, North Carolina slipped these surly bonds of earth on August 2, 2020. Jim was born in Tabor City, North Carolina on August 20, 1936, son of James Samuel and Inez Harrelson Rogers. As a boy, he dreamed of flying airplanes and, while still in college, he fulfilled that dream. As a Captain in the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command during the Vietnam and Cold Wars and over a thirty-year career at Delta Air Lines, he sailed the skies, his home away from home.

Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University and was bemused when his four children all became Tar Heel fans. He was a lifelong avid reader, racing through anything he could get his hands on, yet he had a fondness for books about aviation, the wild west, and the American Civil War. He was a freethinker with a wry sense of humor, and he had an uncanny ability to recall facts about a wide breadth of subjects.

In his later years, even as his health declined, he remained cheerful. He shared that cheer with his grandchildren, who were his devotion for the past 30 years.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Helen Pratt Rogers; siblings Anna Rogers, Carole Rogers Hedrick, and Graham (Sandy) Rogers; children, James R. Rogers and wife Catherine, Jonathan Rogers, Stephen Rogers, and Elizabeth Ratledge and husband Brian; and grandchildren Jami, Jessica, Abby, Lucy, John Brian, Jimmy, Charlie, and Bethany.

Condolences can be shared at apexfuneral.net