Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Military Service

Additional Information

Kevin left behind a young wife, Joanne Elizabeth (née Short) and his 7 month old baby daughter, Elizabeth Mary Jeanne. He was the son of Alan and Joyce (née van Buskirk) Rodgers (both deceased) and brother of Evelyn, Gregg, Katherine and Christine. He was also dearly loved by parents-in-law Freddie and Fergy Short of Ottawa, brother-in-law Steve Short of British Columbia and countless other relatives. He now has a grandson, named Kevin.

Corporal Kevin Rodgers joined the Cameron Highlander Cadet Corps of Ottawa in November 1967. He continued on into the Reserve Unit 28th Service Battalion from May 1972 to July 1976, when he enlisted in the Regular Forces as an MSE OP Corporal and was posted to the Land Engineering Test Establishment (LETE) in Orleans, Ontario. He had been working at LETE for two years, as a Civilian Test Driver. In March 1987 a new facility was completed at LETE. It was dedicated and named the Cpl. Kevin John Rodgers Building. The LETE facility was closed in 1994. The building was left in the hands of the Armed Forces. It has since then been sold to the RCMP.

In May 2004, the Rodgers family made contact with the RCMP who were, at that time, looking for names for their facilities. They had not known that this building had previously been named for someone that had been killed there. They searched around and with the help of a Commissionaire who still worked there, located the original plaque from the building. They quickly decided that the right thing to do was restore Kevin's name to the building. The name therefore was officially put back on the facility on May 11, 2004, the K. J. Rodgers Building.

Commemorated on Page 168 of the In the Service of Canada (1947 - 2014) Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.