Patricia Ann Rogers

Our mom was a kind, loving, resilient woman. Hers was a life filled with ups and downs, and she met them all with a remarkable sense of appreciation, optimism, and a seemingly unconquerable will.

Having lost her father at the tender age of four, Mom made certain that she was always there for her boys, and that we always knew that we were loved.

Family was at the center of her life. Besides her sons and daughters-in-law, she was blessed with seven wonderful grandchildren whom she loved dearly, and took great pride in. She also watched with delight as the next generation, her great-grandchildren, were beginning to make their way through life.

Our mom was also a working mother - before it became the norm. Beginning in the 1960’s, she spent most of her career at a publishing/ marketing services company, where her intelligence, hard work and dedication allowed her to move into the ranks of management. Not an easy feat for a working mother in the earliest days of the 1970’s!

During her retirement years, she continued to enjoy the company of her family, and her wonderful group of friends. She took great joy in talking to, and meeting up with her lifelong friends Sandy, Pat, and Sue, and spent endless hours sitting on her deck or watching her shows with her dear friend and guardian angel Debbie.

For our part, we are filled not only with a profound sense of loss and grief, but also her sense of optimism, which would tell us that she is now at peace, and in a better place.

We love her dearly and miss her already.

Patricia Ann Rogers (nee Zdunczyk, Gioia) of Canton passed away December 26, 2021 at the age of 83. She was born December 20, 1938 in Wyandotte, Michigan to Bernard and Jeanette Zdunczyk. Beloved mother of Don (Judy) Gioia, Jim (Jenny) Gioia, and David (Eileen) Gioia. Loving grandmother of Kelly (Eamonn) Lenihan, Kyle (Michelle) Sitarski, Katelyn Sitarski (Jim Clemens), Nicole Gioia, Angela Gioia, Addison Durham, and Joseph Durham. Dearest great-grandmother of Dillon, Harrison, Finn, Tyler, and Mason. Mom was also survived by the father of her children, Lawrence Gioia, her lifelong friends Sandy Klassa, Pat Haliburda, and Sue Jackson, and her dear friend and neighbor Debbie Winkler. Patricia was predeceased by her parents, her husband Neil Rogers, her step-father John Dankovcik, and her brothers Bernard Zdunczyk, and Michael Dankovcik. Visitation Sunday, January 2, 2022 from 1-7 pm at Neely-Turowski Funeral Home, 45100 Warren Rd., Canton, Michigan 48187. Instate Monday, January 3, 2022 from 10 am until time of Mass at 10:30 am at St. Thomas a’Becket Catholic Church, 555 S. Lilley Rd., Canton, Michigan 48188. A luncheon will take place immediately following the church service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation to the Susan G. Komen foundation (see the link below).