David C. Rogers, beloved son of Rosemary and Charles (Roz and Jolly) Rogers of Proctor, died in his sleep of heart failure at his home in Castleton, VT in the early hours of August 21st. He would have celebrated his 53rd birthday on August 24th. David was a man of many talents and had many adventures during his life. He was raised in Proctor and graduated from Proctor High School in 1986, where he was a gifted student and an outstanding athlete in soccer, basketball and baseball. One special time for David was being chosen to represent Vermont as the goalie on the Vermont Pre-Olympic Soccer Team during the summer he turned 16. He toured Europe for several weeks with the team as they competed successfully in many countries. David graduated from Middlebury College in 1991 where he played soccer and was President of his Fraternity. He was a Northern Studies major and one highlight of those years was spending the month of January 1990 in Canada living above the Arctic Circle, experiencing and studying the environment there. After college, David spent the next two years with friends in Colorado doing what he loved best: skiing in the winter and spending the summers as a river rafting guide. He was known as "Super Dave" because of the many dangerous rescues he made for people whose raft had overturned. His favorite memories of Colorado were the two times he traveled the length of the Colorado River by kayaks and rafts with close friends. These trips, which took 30 plus days to go through the entire length of the Grand Canyon, were filled with challenges and adventures and David loved every minute. In 1994, David returned to Middlebury College for a Post Graduate year where he earned his teaching degree. During the next two years, he taught Environmental Science at South Royalton High School where he also coached girls varsity soccer and boys JV basketball. In 1996, David opened the Lake House Pub and Grill on Lake Bomoseen, VT with his best friend, Greg King where they resurrected a rundown lakeside restaurant and made it into a popular and successful establishment. It was sold in 2005 and continues to thrive to this day. In the winter during these years, David also served as a State Representative to the VT Legislature, representing towns of Castleton, Fair Haven and West Haven. He served under Governors Dean and Douglas and was the youngest Representative in the House at that time. The next adventure in Davids life was in the slate industry when he managed "Vermont Colored Stone" a large slate quarry which produced many beautiful slate products. In 2010, he returned to the restaurant industry and opened the Fish Tail Tavern on Lake Bomoseen where his family owned and operated the Trak-In Restaurant and the Edgewater Resort. This enterprise was an instant success and David managed the Tavern until the family business was sold in 2017. David has spent the years since then in the construction industry for The McKernon Group of Brandon, VT and Markowski Excavating, Inc. of Florence, VT. Being one half Polish descent, David enjoyed many lunches at work eating Polish foods with Same and Greg Markowski. David had three great loves in his life: his family, his many, many friends and deer hunting. David was an avid hunter and loved nature and just being in the woods. He and his special cousin Michael Harger spent many hours hiking on his woodland property and putting motion cameras on the trails so they could track the multitude of wildlife that inhabited this area. Mounted on the walls of Davids home, were many memories of his successes during deer hunting seasons. David is survived by his parents, Roz and Jolly Rogers of Proctor, his brother Dr. Matthew Rogers and his wife Heather of St. Albans VT, his two sisters, Michele Nelson and husband Dan, and Karen Rogers and husband Fabio Rosi, both of Rutland Town. Also his nephews, Zachary and Sawyer Nelson and Eli Rosi and his nieces Ava Rosi and Katherine Rogers, all of whom he loved dearly. He also leaves his first cousins John and Jeff Poremski and Eily and Esa Anderson, plus his "special" cousins who he loved to spend time with: Michael Taranovich, Paul Lasky and Michael Harger. The list of friends that David loved and treasured is extensive and his memory will live in their hearts forever. David was a man of many interest and talents. He had a special charisma that drew people to him. He loved people and loved being with people of all ages and in every walk of life. He had a big heart and felt things deeply. He was known for his many kindnesses and friends have written extensively on Facebook about the wonderful way he valued his friends and employees. He loved all of his (now deceased) grandparents fiercely and was especially close to his "Pops" (Red Poremski) from whom he inherited his red hair. He also felt great sorrow over his Uncle Bernies death a few months ago. Davids heart could not contain all the emotions he felt and it just failed him in the end. We will all miss Davids wonderful spirit and beautiful smile and we will long remember his love and loyalty to family and friends. Calling hours will be held Monday, August 30th from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Ducharme Funeral Home at 1939 Main St., Castleton, VT. A Mass of Christian Death and Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church on Main St. in Castleton, VT. Burial will follow in the Hillside Cemetery in Castleton. A reception will be held at the Lake Bomoseen Lodge at 2551 Rte. 30 N, Lake Bomoseen following the burial. There will be a "Memory Box" provided at Davids wake if anyone wants to put in pictures or a note of remembrance. In lieu of flowers, contributions to provide scholarships to Vermont youth to attend the Kehoe Green Mountain Conservation Camp on Lake Bomoseen, VT, may be made to the Green Mountain Conservation Camp Endowment Fund Kehoe at Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept., 1 National Life Drive, Davis 2 Building, Montpelier, VT 05620-3208. Please specify that the donation is made in memory of David Rogers. Arrangements are under the direction of the Ducharme Funeral Home Inc. Online condolences at www.ducharmefuneralhome.com To plant Memorial Trees in memory of David C. Rogers, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store. Visitation Ducharme Funeral Home Monday, August 30, 2021 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM 1939 Main Street Castleton, Vermont 05735 Funeral Service St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Tuesday, August 31, 2021 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM 45 N Rd Castleton, VT 05735