Eddith Elizabeth Rogers

Edith Elizabeth Rogers of Lancaster was born in Baltimore, MD, on August 25, 1929, and resided as well in Cooperstown, NY, Glencoe, IL, Hubbard Woods, IL, and Chicago, IL. She died Saturday, December 13, 2025, at Trillium Place Mennonite Home. Beth was the daughter of Anne Strother Kirk of Baltimore, MD, and Meyric Reynold Rogers of Boston, MA. She is survived by her brother, Meyric K. Rogers of Lancaster, PA. Beth attended grammar school in St. Louis, MO, then grade and middle school in Glencoe, IL, and Hubbard Woods, IL, and then University of Chicago Laboratory High School in Chicago, IL. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in Humanities 1953. Beth decided to study architecture and spent a year at Yale architectural school and a summer at Taliesin West at Scottsdale, Arizona. But architecture did not suit her. In intervening years, Beth worked as office support for a number of non-profit organizations until her marriage to Eugene Meir, a student at the University of Chicago's theological school. Two sons were born: Fred Behnken of Albuquerque, NM, and Richard Gearhart of Chatham, NJ, whose children are Son Sean of Clarksburg, MD, and Daughter Lindsey Marie Gearhart of Portland, OR. Beth’s marriage ended in divorce in 2001. Her children were set up for adoption. In the intervening years, Beth was absorbed in writing poetry and reading and enacting great tracks of Shakespeare; she constructed a significant number of paper and foil collages. Beth became the partner of an American Indian, Louis Lightfoot, a hunter, guide, and artist. For years, the two of them traveled all over the western parts of the country, as he solicited hunting contracts and Beth worked odd jobs until moving to Cooperstown, NY, and Mr. Lightfoot then departed. She spent 15 years in Cooperstown taking care of her mother, who had retired there. During this time, Beth bought a small bookstore and continued her love of reading and creative arts. Beth and her mother published a book about the letters her mother and her oldest sister, Mary, exchanged in the years just prior to WW2, entitled “The Other Mrs. Simpson”. Mary had married Earnst Simpson, the former husband of the Duchess of Windsor, and was a frequent guest of English Royalty. When her mother passed, Beth moved to Woodcrest Villa in Lancaster, PA, to be close to her brother’s family. This was the happiest and most creative part of her life. She continued her past passions and became involved in the chorus, play acting, gardening, and started environmental recycling at the Villa, and was reported to have recycled 17,000 pounds of Styrofoam. St James Episcopal Church of Lancaster was an important part of her spiritual life, and in the discussion sessions between Sunday services, she was an active listener and questioner. Beth spent a lot of her time at Woodcrest helping those older and less mobile than herself. She will be missed by those who know her well and casually. A Funeral Service will be held at St James Episcopal Church, 119 N. Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17602, on Friday, February 27, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Friends are welcome to greet the family starting at 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Beth's favorite charities were: Human Rights Watch, Coast Guard Foundation, American Indian Education, St James Episcopal Church, Water Street Mission, and American Farmland Trust. Any contributions made to Beth’s name would be deeply appreciated.