Betty Rogers
March 6, 2001

Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Rogers, died March 6, 2001 at the age of 82, after a brief illness. Born Betty Potter in Winnipeg in 1918, she married Joe Rogers in 1939 and had three daughters. The family moved from Winnipeg to Kitchener in 1954 and to Kingston in 1965.

Betty held many jobs throughout her life, including (but not restricted to) running her own ballet school in the 1930s, hosting a daily exercise on live TV in Kitchener in the 1950s (Slimnastics on CKCO-TV), and teaching high-school physical education. She was very active in the community in Kitchener and Kingston, particularly in amateur theatre.

Betty eventually moved to Toronto where she met and married James Innes (Hud) Stewart in 1994.

In addition to her daughters Judy (Scherz), Jane (Barnes), and Elizabeth (Jo), she is survived by sisters Joan Bovard and Shirley Johnson; sister-in-law Evelyn Auer; grandchildren Samantha Pole, Joe Benson, and Tina and Annie Scherz; and cousins Margaret Kruzsely, Liz Lackner and Carol Fivey.

Betty’s enthusiasm and love of people made her popular with many and she will be missed by her family and countless friends in Toronto and elsewhere.

Instead of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated.

A gathering to remember Betty will be held soon. Friends and family will be notified.

Betty Rogers – First host of Slimnastics – 1959