William Lee Rogers

William (Bill) Lee Rogers of Jonesboro, Arkansas went to be with the Lord on February 20, 2025. He was born on October 4, 1946 to Clayton and Jeanne (Adkins) Rogers.

Bill’s life was centered around his love for God, his family and community. He lived a life of service for those around him. From his childhood to his later years, he continuously found ways to serve, lead, and strengthen people!

Bill graduated from Jonesboro High School where he played football and basketball for JHS. He also swam for the YMCA and JHS swim teams where he broke many state records in the individual medley and butterfly events. Bill was honored with the JHS Sportsmanship Award in 1964. He went to SMU on a swimming scholarship. Bill then transferred to Hendrix college where he continued to swim and also met the love of his life, Dianne (Bumpers), who he was married to for 57 years. Bill graduated from Hendrix college in 1968 and was voted outstanding athlete. He received his Masters of Art in Education from UCA in 1970.

His love for swimming earned him the nickname, “Fish”, and his passion led to many accolades including being introduced to the Arkansas Swimming Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Hendrix Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998. He broke 143 state swim records, held championships within the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference, and made the Olympic qualifying time in butterfly his senior year at JHS. Bill’s love for swimming led into coaching. He coached swim teams for UCA, ASU, and he initiated the Learn to Swim program at the YMCA, where he coached for 10 years and led the team to two state championships.

Bill’s life was also marked by his love for his community. He was involved in education at the local and state levels. He served as a member of the Jonesboro School Board for 18 years, where he was president for 4 of those years, the State Vocational Advisory Board and the Arkansas Boards Association. He served on the Jonesboro Craighead Library Board of Trustees for 15 years. Bill was a member of the American Red Cross Craighead County Board for 14 years. He held membership in the Optimist Club for 20 years, and served as president for two years. Bill was also a part of the City Water and Light board for years. Within all of this, his passion was to serve the Jonesboro YMCA where he was on the board for 24 years, serving as President and Acting Director. Bill also officiated junior high, high school, college football and basketball for 50 years. He spent over 28 years at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. During his successful career at Blue Cross, he was responsible for group sales working with employers and independent agents in Jonesboro and the fifteen counties in Northeast Arkansas. Over the years, Bill was more than an insurance advisor. He developed personal, long-lasting relationships with his customers. He taught alongside his wife Dianne in children’s ministry at First United Methodist Church and was also very involved at Trinity Church and Cornerstone United Methodist Church.

Bill’s life was not short of community involvement! His life motivation was to help people. At the core of all of this, Bill was a family man and is dearly loved by them all. His time on earth was spent building people up, and his legacy will continue through his family, friends, and the many people he encouraged throughout his life.

Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Clayton and Jeanne Rogers, his sister, Jerrie Walden, and son, Lee Rogers. Bill is survived by his wife, Dianne, his 3 children Laura (Steve), Bryce and Polly Rogers, his 11 grandchildren and his 2 great children with more on the way.

A celebration of his life will be held at Emerson Funeral Home Friday, March 7 at 2:00 pm. Visitation will be from 1:00-2:00. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to First Church, Breaking Bonds, 4200 South Caraway, Jonesboro, AR 72404.