Obituaries / LJWorld.com

Obituaries

Beverly June (Brunton) Rogge Black, 84, died at home February 8, 2013 of complications following a recent surgery. Born in Topeka on August 5, 1928 to Jeanette J. and William D. Brunton, she was the fourth of their six children. She grew up in the Garden Park area of Topeka during the Great Depression, and graduated from Highland Park High School in 1946.
She married Edgar C. Rogge of Patterson, NJ at the Forbes Air Force Base chapel on October 9, 1948 (which was constructed, in part, by her father, a union carpenter). They had five children, with whom they shared their love of laughter, reading, dancing, and KU Jayhawks men’s basketball. Ed Rogge died June 10, 1978. He was a federal auditor whose work took their family to live in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Missouri, and Kansas.
Beverly married Merle F. Black of Williamstown, KS on December 27, 1980 at Danforth Chapel on the campus of Kansas University. Merle, who managed Heetco in Overbrook, KS, shared her passion for KU basketball. They enjoyed traveling on cruise ships to Alaska, Mexico, and Canada, and following the Jayhawks to tournament and postseason bowl games. Merle Black died March 31, 2010.
She was among the first seven employees hired at the Kmart Distribution Center in Lawrence, where she was the payroll and office manager until her retirement in 1993. Beverly was a KU basketball season ticket holder for thirty-five years until 2003. She was a staunch Democrat and union supporter who maintained a lifelong interest in politics, and in the civil rights of women and minorities.
She was preceded in death by her parents, both of her husbands, her brother Charles Brunton, and two sisters, Memory (Brunton) Shaw Harrison, and Micki Sue Brunton. She is survived by two brothers Robert Brunton of Bella Vista, AR, and Donald Brunton (wife Lois) of Albuquerque, NM, her children Richard Rogge (wife Barbara), and Patricia Rogge all of Overland Park, KS; Kathleen Rogge, Pamela (Rogge) Begert (husband Mark), and John Rogge all of Lawrence, KS. Also surviving are her eight grandchildren; Joshua Begert of Gardner, KS, Daniel Begert of Springfield, IL, Elizabeth McConnell of Milwaukee, WI, Allison Rogge of Portland, OR, Kimberly (Begert) Lane (husband Matt) of Lawrence, Alexander McConnell of Milwaukee, Kelsey McConnell, and Stephen Rogge both of Overland Park, and one great- grandaughter, Lucy Lane, of Lawrence.
Private services will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.
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