Generations of Illowa Council Boy Scouts knew him as the Kitchen King. Or the Grub Master. He was a John Wayne-quoting legend.
Behind the legend of Ben Rogers was a kind and generous man who lived by a simple code: Give to others. He spent 40 years as a volunteer with the Illowa Council Boy Scouts and was 67 years old when he died April 7 of causes related to COVID-19.
Sorrow and praise flowed from those who knew him.
Austin Mitchell said any moment spent with Ben Rogers was a moment that bettered your life.
“He was simply the best, a giving man who was willing to lend a second hand no matter what was going on,” said Mitchell, the Boy Scout camp ranger at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve.
“He was joyful in everything he did or tried. There was never a dull moment around him for sure.”
Mitchell said Rogers, on his own time, found his way to the scout camp at Loud Thunder and assisted with ongoing projects.
“He was always there to help,” Mitchell said, noting that any time Rogers was guiding a group of scouts toward their cooking merit badge, it was his signal to stop in for a bowl of whatever was being made.
“The kids loved learning from him and Ben was great with anything, but he could cook,” Mitchell said. “You could always get a bowl of something good with him in charge.”
James Schmidt became an Eagle Scout in 2003 and shared the National Jamboree with Rogers in 2005. At the beginning of the excursion, Rogers put Schmidt in charge of the 36 young scouts before them.
“Outside of my own troop, Ben Rogers was probably the Scouter who had the biggest impact on me,” Schmidt said. “He just turned to me and said it was time for me to lead. Mind you, he was there to guide me, but he gave me the freedom to make my own way and it was something that was life-changing for me.
“He taught me more about being a leader in those two weeks than I thought possible. I’m so numb just thinking about the loss of Ben, his family, the Illowa Council, and the whole Quad-Cities.”
Schmidt noted Rogers was one of the funniest people he knew.
“Great John Wayne impression among others,” Schmidt said. “He had a bunch of funny mannerisms about him and could take a joke as well as give one. Like a lot of people, I’m numb. I was hoping someday to have him be part of the scouting lives of my sons.”
The last line of Rogers’ obituary were words attributed to his idol, John Wayne.
“A man has to have a code, a creed, to live by.”
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