By Dennis Nartker [email protected] KENDALLVILLE — She taught second-graders — many of them at Kendallville Central Elementary School — their multiplication tables, the Pledge of Allegiance and the joy of reading a book. She helped develop their skills in writing sentences, paragraphs and stories. They learned how to spell the 50 states, record what happens in science experiments, draw maps and appreciate the beauty of nature. Like so many elementary school teachers before her, and those who followed her, Clarice Rogers inspired young minds to better see the world around them. Mrs. Rogers, 84, of Greenbank, Washington, and formerly of Kendallville died Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, in Washington. She taught second grade at Kendallville Central Elementary School for 27 years. Her family remembers her as a devoted daughter, wife, mother and grandmother. "Mom was quiet and reserved," said her son Tom Rogers. "She spent many hours in bleachers watching her sons' tennis matches, baseball and basketball games, while grading her second-graders' schoolwork in her lap." Mrs. Rogers was born on Oct. 7, 1931, on the Gunsaullus farm near Helmer to Harold and Nellie Gunsaullus Whysong. She arrived on her mother's birthday and they always shared that special bond, according to Tom. She grew up on the family farm, and, as country children do, helped in the fields and in the barn. The farm was on Buffalo Street, where she had several cousins to play with on summer afternoons. She graduated from Ashley High School in a class of 38 students, enrolled at Butler University and graduated in 1955 with a bachelor's degree. She later graduated from the University of Saint Francis with a master's degree. She married Pete Rogers in 1956 at Helmer United Methodist Church. He preceded her in death in July 2014. They lived on the family farm for three years and then moved to their home at Cree Lake, north of Kendallville. Mrs. Rogers was a stay-at-home mother for 11 years for their three sons, Tom, Eric and Peter. When Peter, the youngest, started first grade, there was a shortage of teachers in the East Noble School Corp., and Mrs. Rogers was hired to teach at Kendallville Central Elementary School. Nancy Butler Taylor was a second-grade student with Mrs. Rogers in 1970-71. "One memory I still have is when she would select two students each morning after the Pledge of Allegiance to go to the front of the class and practice introductions," Taylor said. "She would give us a scenario and we had to properly do an introduction. I never learned that anywhere else, and I still use what she taught us to this day." Deb Sparkman Hursey worked with Mrs. Rogers at Kendallville Central Elementary. "She was a wonderful person, a great friend, and her students loved her." Mrs. Rogers belonged to several educational organizations and was a past member of the Beta Chapter of Tri Kappa in Kendallville. After her sons' college years were over, her life was more relaxed. She enjoyed visiting her family and was happy to welcome her grandsons, Jared and Devin Rogers, to the family. In 1995, after her son Peter's death, Mrs. Rogers retired from teaching. She and her husband spent their retirement years between Cree Lake and their home in Greenbank. They moved to Greenbank in 2011. Taylor said she still has her second-grade report card, on which Mrs. Rogers wrote at times she talked too much. "I loved her," Taylor said. A memorial gathering of friends was held on Dec. 4, and Mrs. Rogers lies in Lake View Cemetery, Kendallville.