Farewell, Neil Rogers
MIAMI - (CBS4) - A memorial service will be held Friday for longtime South Florida radio host Neil Rogers who died in December.
The service will begin at 3 p.m. at the Center for Spiritual Living, 1550 Northeast 26th Street in Wilton Manors. The service will be followed by cocktails at the Manor Entertainment Complex at 2345 Wilton Drive.
Rogers, who was 68, was suffering from several health ailments, including progressive vascular dementia. He died on December 24th and was cremated six days later.
The talk show host spent more than three decades on South Florida airwaves, starting at WJNO in Palm Beach. He has also been on WKAT, WNWS, WINZ, WIOD. He was most recently on AM 560 WQAM, before he retired in 2009.
Rogers suffered a stroke and heart attack in October and his condition had declined since Thanksgiving.
According to his attorney Norm Kent, doctors said surgery was too risky and he would likely not survive it and referred him to a hospice, where he passed away 21 days later.
Kent said in mid-December that Rogers was suffering from Sundowners Syndrome, in which people suffer from an uncomfortable sleep and mood disorder which causes them to experience periods of extreme agitation and confusion during the late afternoon or early evening hours, leading to irritability towards even caregivers or hospital staff.
Kent said earlier in December, "As you remember him, recall what he used to say- 'It's only a radio show.' Hopefully, in those hours on the air he taught all of us to press on in our daily lives with an abiding sense of wit and humor."
Hank Goldberg, a legendary sports radio commentator who now works for ESPN, said he met Rogers when he was suspended for his radio gig.
"I think one of the reasons for his popularity is that he went after the boss everyday," Goldberg said. "Everybody likes to go after the boss everyday so people in a way could relate to that. He got away with it too."
