WALPOLE, N.H. – On Oct. 25, 2025, Walpole lost a lifelong resident and icon. Marjorie Ann Rogers lived peacefully surrounded by love, family, friends, and animals. She was born on Feb. 6, 1934, to Paul Canning Rogers and Marjorie Alice Rhodes.
Graduating in 1956 from Keene State College, Ann began her 35-year teaching career in Hanover, N.H. After Hanover, she taught in Chester, Vt., and on to Walpole, where she retired in 1995. Through her dedication and enthusiasm, Ann built lasting and meaningful connections with her colleagues and students. Innovative teaching led to a cultural exchange with a fifth grade class from Houston, Texas, which had begun as pen pals. Her unique, compassionate teaching earned her New Hampshire Teacher of the Year in 1981, for which she was invited to Washington to attend a luncheon with Ronald Reagan. To this day, if Ann encountered a former student, she would often joke that they still owed her homework. If you have unreturned schoolwork, it may well be in a box in her attic still! Yearly letter writing was taught in her class, where thank-you notes took precedence. You could only be fortunate enough to receive a handwritten note from Ann. Her handwritten notes were genuine, and filled with gratitude and kindness. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Noah Osgood Scholarship, P.O. Box 1600, Claremont, NH 03743, which emphasizes kindness and gratitude.
Ann had great attachment to her community, a community she loved, a lifelong Walpole resident. If you tour the historical society, there’s a picture of her modeling a dress as a child. She also devoted time to the historical society. Her deep faith kept Ann a lifelong member of the First Congregational Church of Walpole, also where she and her seven siblings were baptized when Ann was 8. Occasionally you could see a little fast-stepping lady headed uptown delivering her homemade lemon squares or ginger cookies to local businesses. Blessed with her warmth, there was not a person or animal that didn’t receive a smile if greeted by Ann. If you choose to forego flowers, donating to the First Congregational Church of Walpole would be a building she has loved since childhood.
Ann loved animals as well, receiving her first pony at age 10, and there were many more to come. It was not only Ann that believed in community support; she also incorporated her donkey Patrick, who yearly made an appearance in the live nativity scene on the Common at Christmas. Dogs and cats also filled her house and heart. Carrying love for animals and children came naturally and abundantly. Ann’s pockets were deep with thought for others, and usually contained dog cookies just in case she encountered town dogs while out on her walk.
Referred to as the family rockstar, she will always be our Mount Rushmore. She leaves behind a family she deeply loved – Ann’s three children Douglas Faxon, Susan Faxon (Brendon Jones), and Edward Faxon; and 10 grandchildren Shannon Faxon (Shaun), Michael Brodeur (Cynthia), Robbie Brodeur (Caroline), Lyle Faxon, Kayla Munukka (Dave), Luke Joslin (Lilly), Drew Josli, Bo Schadler, Tiffany Vigneau (John), and Paige Putnam (Ben). More great joys are her great-grandchildren Quinlyn, Finnegan, Ella, Sawyer, Olly, Oprea, Izzy, Mariah, Neil, Maddy, and Aurora.
Ann is survived by her two sisters Katie Kittredge, of Palm Beach, Fla., and Joan Sylvester, of Walpole; and one brother Gus Rogers (Sally), of Crossvill, Tenn. She also leaves behind nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her brothers Robert Rogers, Richard Rogers, Paul Rogers, and Phil Rogers. Ann also leaves behind an almost century-long friendship with her best friend Hazel Green, of Vancouver, Wash.
If you knew Ann, you loved her; she would make you want to be a better person. Her final thank-you would be to all the people who have been so kind to her and touched her heart, especially in her time of need. She also would say God bless you all. So, write thank-you notes, smile, be kind to animals and children, bake for people, say nice things, enjoy the beauty of your town. Her favorite saying is, “Short visits make long friends.”
Visitation will take place on Nov. 7, from 4-6 p.m., at the Fenton and Hennessey Funeral Home, 55 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls, Vt. A funeral service will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m., at the First Congregational Church of Walpole in Walpole, N.H. Burial will be held privately for the family.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Fenton and Hennessey Funeral Home, 55 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls, Vt.