Wanda June Rogers

Wanda was born on July 18, 1936 to Lee and Lula Cardwell of Sevier County Tennessee. She grew up there and graduated Sevier County High school in 1954. She met LeRoy in 1949 when he was helping measure tobacco allotments on her fathers farm. They began dating in 1954 and were married in 1958. Wanda and LeRoy lived in Tennessee, Alabama, California and Kentucky and enjoyed over 65 years of marriage. Wanda loved people and made friends all across the world. She enjoyed a life of travel

with LeRoy completing long car trips across the US, Canada and to Alaska and she traveled internationally to countries from the Middle East, across the Mediterranean and Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and across the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia. Wanda enjoyed being out in nature hiking many miles of trails in National Parks across the US. Her favorite wilderness was the Great Smoky Mountains. She and her daypack were always ready to share time on mountain trails with family and friends. She enjoyed camping, canoeing and birding and was an expert at wildflower

identification. Wanda had a lifelong enjoyment of photography from her first Brownie camera in the

1950s to digital cameras in the 2000s with tens of thousands of photographs to

chronicle her travels and her family. Wanda loved her family from her siblings, nieces and nephews to distant cousins. She worked hard to be a part of their lives and provide them with opportunities to gather

together. Her grand children and great grand children were her greatest joy. Even during her last years her delight and joy was sitting in the floor playing with her great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her brothers Jim Cardwell and Rex Cardwell and her sister Kate Cardwell Jackson.

She is survived by her husband LeRoy Rogers and her two sons James (wife Deanna) Rogers and Mark

(wife Tammie) Rogers; two grand children Samantha (husband Calvin) Dougherty and Emily (husband Ben) Thompson; 5 great grandchildren Thomas and Cara Dougherty and Madeline, Lillian and Eden Thompson; and her siblings Geneva Cardwell Sarten, Jack (wife Connie) Cardwell, Bill (wife Nancy) Cardwell and Mary Lou Cardwell Blalock.

Receiving of friends will be held between 12:00 and 1:00 PM and a Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 PM on March 16th, 2024 at West Hills Baptist Church, 409 Winston Road, Knoxville TN. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that charitable contributions be made to your favorite charity in her name.