John's obituary
John William Rogers, of both Wainwright and Beaver County passed away suddenly on September 1st, 2024, at home, after a long battle with Autoimmune Encephalitis, at the age of sixty-six.
John was born on November 12, 1957 in Assiniboia Saskatchewan, to Anna (nee Silzer) and Harry Rogers. He grew up in the small town of Limerick, where, according to him, he learned to sweep floors and that his father would break his fingers if he decided to become a mechanic.
In his early teens his family moved to Edmonton and he left school shortly before graduating to pursue what would become a lifelong love - driving. He became a truck driver, starting with short haul and working his way up into offroad, oilfield and ice road trucking, he hauled everything, including components to build the University of Alberta Hospital and secret loads to American military sites.
He is one of the few people in the world that had a certificate for crossing the Arctic Circle, fully loaded, carry tons of weight, in his Kenworth. Despite the loving threats of his father, John was an accomplished mechanic, a great wood worker, and could build or fix just about anything.
In 1995, John opened his own trucking company, Wind Walker Transport and when a severe work accident ended his trucking career, he found himself in the fight of his life against WCB, and during that time met his representative and future wife, Teresa. He would always say she was worth getting hit by a Kenworth for.
He was an amazing, smart, kind and funny man, who everyone loved, because above all else, John was honest, real, and true to his word, and he had the biggest most contagious laugh ever.
John was predeceased by his father, Harry and mother Anne, and is survived by his loving wife, Teresa Roper, their children, spouses and families: Frankie Hinchcliffe, and his children Nyx, Sylas and Sawyer; Shayne Hinchcliffe, his wife Max and their son Seth; Christopher Hinchcliffe, his Wife Melody; Jacob Johnson, his wife Heather and their children Carter and Callum. He is also survived by his sister Linda McEachern, her husband Don, and their children, Christina, Darrell and Stacey, His Uncle Ray Silzer and wife Beth, and many cousins.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Encephalitis International, in John’s name at https://www.encephalitis.info/