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Joanne Rogers, widow of famous children’s television host Fred Rogers, has died aged 92, the non-profit organization founded by her late husband announced Thursday.
Joanne Rogers was married to Fred Rogers for over 50 years until her death in 2003 from stomach cancer. She worked as president emeritus of Fred Rogers Productions after her husband passed away, the company said Thursday.
“Joanne was a brilliant and accomplished musician, a wonderful advocate for the arts and a dear friend to everyone in our organization,” said Fred Rogers Productions. “We offer our deepest condolences to Joanne’s family and to the thousands of people who have had the privilege of knowing and loving her.
The couple met while Fred Rogers was attending Rollins College in Florida and kept in touch after moving to New York City for a job as an assistant producer. Joanne Rogers told NBC’s “Today” show in 2018 that her husband proposed in a letter while she was in her senior year at Florida State.
Fred and Joanne Rogers had two children, James and John.
Joanne Rogers became the keeper of her husband’s legacy as the beloved host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, ultimately allowing her life to be remembered in the 2018 documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor? “
She told the Los Angeles Times that her biggest demand from the documentary was for her husband not to present himself as a saint, but as an ordinary man who left his mark with the simplicity of kindness.
“He’s out there now as someone who’s kind of way above all of us,” said Joanne Rogers. “People always say, ‘Well, I can’t do that, but I really admire him. I would like to do it. ‘ Well you can do it. I’m sure there are a lot of Fred Rogers out there.
Actor Tom Hanks played Fred Rogers in the 2019 biopic “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” a role that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The city of Pittsburgh, where “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” was produced and where Fred Rogers lived for the rest of his life, tweeted Thursday that Joanne Rogers was “one of Pittsburgh’s biggest neighbors.”
“Joanne and Fred have changed our city forever.”
After the death of Fred Rogers in February 2003, his widow told the Pittsburgh “NightTalk” that he had been in pain for months. Joanne Rogers told her husband when it was finally time to let go.
“So there was real relief when I could tell her, ‘You know, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fine,” she told the show. “The boys will be okay, and I’ll try to be okay. So when he left, I could feel that he was gone in peace and even with joy. I really feel he left with joy. “
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