‘Most Beautiful Person’: Kathy is the yin to Edmund’s yang and a mother who would give her daughters the world

Roge Rogers might have rolled his eyes a little bit when a friend told him that some single girls would be coming to his daughter’s birthday party.

Still, Roge accepted the invitation and showed up.

Call it fate or just a stroke of unbelievably good luck, but the party actually brought Roge face to face with a woman who first gave him butterflies, then agreed to date him and, eventually, married him. The odds were low of making that kind of connection in that setting, but their feelings grew strong, at least when Roge finally worked up the courage to call Kathy after three weeks of fighting through nerves.

Roge can still remember like it was yesterday the name of the movie (“Stigmata”) they saw and the restaurant where they had dinner (Gladstone’s) on their first date, along with the fact that Kathy was kind enough to protect his feelings before revealing that she doesn’t, in fact, care for seafood.

Nothing felt difficult or forced then or now. Their feelings for each other were natural from the beginning, helped along by Kathy’s kindness and selflessness, which have since become cornerstone attributes in their family life. A non-traditional relationship, Roge and Kathy first had two beautiful daughters, Erin and Emma, and were later married after moving from California to Arkansas. Looking back, Roge never lost the spark he had Kathy on Day 1.

“From the first time we met, we connected,” Roge said. “Kathy has always been the perfect complement for me. She pushes me to try things that I would never do on my own. I admire her drive and dedication. There isn’t anything that Kathy won’t try. She is up for any challenge that presents itself.

“She is one of the most determined people that I have ever known. She is a hero to my girls.”

A hero to Erin and Emma and the love of Roge’s life, and he is grateful to say that their love and passion for one another still grows with each passing day.

Kathy completes him, he says, by complementing his strengths and weaknesses just right. Part of that is in their personalities, but another big part of it is the fact that Kathy has so many different life experiences she can’t help but connect with everyone.

She has lived on the East and West coasts, as well as a stint in Ireland as a child. She worked in the movie industry and started her own production company, then she gave it all up to stay at home and raise the girls. She ventured back into the workforce starting her own notary company, and finally landed her current position as an analyst in Walmart’s Items Optimization Department. All the while, she is working toward her master’s degree and refusing to stop bettering herself.

“She is a role model,” Roge said. “She is driven.
She is dedicated. She is always there for both of our girls. They look up to her and go to her in times of need. The qualities that Kathy possesses as a person are the same qualities that make her a great mother.”

Kathy isn’t willing to compromise on any of those core values of selflessness and sacrifice. And although she has experienced a great deal of success in her professional life and continues to strive for more, those endeavors were never THE priority.

For all of those reasons, and so many more, Roge, their children, and countless other friends and family members have the utmost love and admiration for everything Kathy stands for. It has certainly meant the world to Roge and made their life together everything he imagined, and so much more.

“I hope she knows I love her, that I strive to be a better person, not just for myself but for her,” Edmund said. “I want to honor her with my actions and words. She is the most beautiful person both inside and out. I know that I’m a better person because of her, and I hope she feels the same about me.

“The moments we have spent and the moments we will spend together are the moments that will define us.”