Joyce Rogers' Obituary
On November 10, 2022, our beloved mother, Joyce Retchin Rogers, died peacefully at her home in Boynton Beach, Florida surrounded by her daughters (Nancy Retchin Rich, Linda Retchin and Judy Retchin) and her husband, John Rogers. She was loved by all who knew her.
Mom was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 27, 1931 to David and Lilian Sikowitz. Her family moved to East Northport, Long Island where they had a small farm and her father made ends meet by being a “Jack of all trades.” They lived in a home that had no indoor plumbing, and Mom told mesmerizing stories about what is was like to live without today’s comforts. When her parents worked at Grumman during the war effort, Mom maintained the home for her parents and her brothers Allan, Leonard and Joel. She graduated from Northport High School. She entered a beauty contest and was crowned Miss Long Island Potato Queen.
In 1950, she married Morton Retchin and shortly thereafter they moved to Babylon, New York where she was a homemaker and they raised three daughters. Her home was a gathering place for extended family, their friends and their children’s friends. Mom was an avid mahjong player who loved to read and do crossword puzzles. She worked as a dental assistant and office manager and briefly ran her own business, Shady Ladies, making window coverings with her dear friend Millie Rothenberg.
Her beloved husband Morty died after 35 years of marriage. Shortly thereafter she met and married her second love, John Rogers of Bay Shore. Mom and John moved to Florida where they were members of the Gulfstream Yacht Club traveling between Long Island and Florida and enjoying their friends, travel and golf. They traveled to Europe and Hawaii and always made time to visit their children. Every other year their families had a combined Thanksgiving in either Vermont, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Long Island or Washington, D.C.
After living in Delray Beach, Mom and John settled in Tivoli Reserve, Boynton Beach where Mom made numerous friends, served on several committees, and joined Temple Shaarei Shalom. Mom briefly worked at Macy’s and donated her time as a dental assistant in an office providing dental care to migrants and underprivileged patients. Mom enjoyed boating, going to the beach, walking in the pool and clocking her steps on her Fitbit.
Mom loved to entertain and she and John hosted numerous dinner parties and brunches for friends and family. Dark chocolate, her favorite food, would almost always be on the menu. Mom was renowned for making and mailing rice crispy balls to her loved ones and delivering homemade brownies to her doctors’ offices and the Verizon tech support employees. Mom was a competent seamstress who loved to make Halloween costumes for her grandchildren, fix all of our hems and make masks for her Tivoli neighbors during the onset of the COVID epidemic.
Mom was the glue that held us all together. Her kindness and warmth were legendary. She is so sorely missed.
She is survived by her husband, John Rogers, her children Nancy, Linda and Judy, her grandchildren Hannah, Ian, Sophia and Marina, her brothers Allan and Joel, her step children John, Bryan, Pam and Chris, her step grandchildren Bryan Jr., Dillon and Colby, her nieces and nephews and their families. She was laid to rest at Mt. Ararat Cemetery in Lindenhurst, NY.
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