Edwin F. ‘Ted’ Rogers, 90, of Syracuse, Ind., passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, at his residence.

He was born on a farm near Ridgeville, Ind., on Nov. 15, 1922. He lived on the farm until his graduation from High School. He married Marjorie Power in 1942, and they had two children; a daughter, Carolyn, and a son, Ronald, who perished in Vietnam in 1970. Marjorie passed away in 2007.

He graduated from Ridgeville High School in 1941. He then attended Indiana Technical College in Fort Wayne, Ind., majoring in Electrical Engineering. He completed college in uniform, graduating from Oregon State. He enlisted in the US Army in 1942, and was commissioned as a Signal Corps Officer.  He served overseas in Italy. After WWII, he helped re-organize the Nation Guard. He founded the National Guard Unit in Huntington, Ind., and commanded it for five years.

Ted remained in Indiana National Guard unit until 1968, and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He started his own business in Huntington, in 1946, operating a radio repair shop. He then branched out into two-way radio and sound systems. He began manufacturing electronic controls in 1964. Incorporated as Rogers Electro-Matics in 1969, he sold the retail portion of the business and moved manufacturing to Syracuse, Ind., in 1971. He built a new factory on West Chicago Street, Syracuse in 1990.

In 1993, at the age of 70, Ted sold the corporation and retired. Ted was very active in Veterans and service organizations. He was a past commander of the Huntington VFW as well as a past president of the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce and served on the board of directors of the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation. Ted restarted the Wawasee Flotilla in 1973, and served on the Flotilla Committee for 21 years.

He is survived by his daughter: Carolyn (Tony) Johnson, California; two grandchildren: Marni and Ronald;  and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife and his son.

Visitation will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at Eastlund Funeral Home, Syracuse. Funeral services take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, at the funeral home.

The family requests all memorial contributions be made to The Huntington VFW or to the WACF.