Paul Rodgers

STOUGHTON- Paul Ronald Thomas Kirk Rodgers passed away peacefully at home on May 16, 2018, surrounded by family. He was born on August 23, 1936 to Paul G. and Elizabeth Rodgers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Langley High School in 1954 and joined the Air Force in December of that year. He spent 22 years active duty at various duty stations stateside and overseas, retiring as MSgt in 1977. While stationed in Arizona, Paul met the love of his life, Audrey "Jonni" Atkinson, of Stoughton, and they were married on Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado on April 12, 1959. After leaving the service, Paul and Jonni settled in the Stoughton area where he worked in sales until 1998.
Paul and Jonni loved to travel and saw all fifty states and many foreign countries. They enjoyed taking an African safari and walking inside the Great Pyramid in Egypt. He enjoyed spending time with family, tinkering, and watching sports. He shared his self-taught mechanical and technical skills, and taught his children and grandchildren how to problem-solve, work with their hands, and overcome any obstacle. Mostly, he imparted a love of learning and bettering oneself. He always believed in and supported his children and grandchildren.
Paul is survived by his loving wife, their children David (Saadia Noubi), Bekki (Allen Suiter), Melissa (Fernando) Manfredi, Jill (Mark) Kiesow, and grandchildren Elizabeth (Michael Edwards) and Joseph Mahsem, Ahmed, Abdullah, and Lena Rodgers, and Claire Kiesow, and great grandchildren Michael and Barret Edwards, and by his sister, Betsy Schoeneman, and two nieces, April and Dawn and their families.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, May 21, 2018 at Cress Funeral Home, 206 W. Prospect in Stoughton. Interment, with Military honors, will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Stoughton. A light meal will be served at the Stoughton VFW following interment. Visitation will be held from 1:00 PM until the time of services Monday at the funeral home. Please share your memories of Paul by posting Tributes.
Cress Funeral Service
206 W. Prospect Street
Stoughton, WI 53589
(608) 873-9244