FORT MYERS, FL — Wesley James Rooker, 86, of Fort Myers, FL, formerly of Claremont, NH, passed away peacefully on February 11, 2021.
Wes was born to Agnes White Rooker and Harold Clyde Rooker on March 8, 1934. He attended school and grew up in Ogilvie, MN, with his sisters Marlyn (Zufall) and Darlene (Lehrke) and his brother Harold. He married Doris (Dory) Nelson on March 25, 1956, and was blessed to share 65 beautiful years with the love of his life.
Wes was proud to be the first member of his family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree in music education from St. Cloud State Teachers’ College (now St. Cloud State University) in Minnesota. He then attended graduate school at Baldwin Conservatory in Berea, OH before enlisting in the US Army in 1958. He was a bandsman and clerk stationed in Fort Jackson, SC. He later earned a master’s degree in education administration from Rhode Island College.
Following discharge from the army, Wes began a long career in education as a demonstration teacher at St. Cloud State College. He and Dory then moved to the east coast where he shared his talent and passion for education in several northeastern states. He was a music teacher and supervisor in the Groton, CT School System, served as a teacher and Assistant Headmaster at St. Michael’s Country Day School in Newport, RI, and Head of the Lower School at Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn, NY. Wes eventually spent the last 25 years of his career in Claremont, NH, first as Curriculum Coordinator of the Claremont Public Schools and finally as the Dean of Continuing Education at the NH Technical College in Claremont.
Wes had a lifelong love of music and was a talented musician, starting with piano lessons in childhood, and later adding clarinet and voice. He had a beautiful tenor voice and performed frequently in college, including singing the role of Caspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors and various roles in community theater in Newport, RI and Claremont, NH. He had a passion for liturgical music and served as organist and choirmaster at St. Mark’s Church in Mystic, CT and Trinity Church in Newport, RI, and as choirmaster for many years at Trinity Episcopal Church in Claremont, NH. Even in his retirement he sang in the choir at St. Michael and All Angels on Sanibel Island, FL.
Wes was a devoted and loving father to his three children Wesley James Rooker II (deceased 1978), Nelson Rooker (Sarah) and Bethany Rooker Kieley. He was also beloved “Papa” to his grandchildren Annalise and James Kieley and Elizabeth and Helen Rooker.
Special thanks and gratitude to the staff of Page Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Fort Myers for the care they provided to Wes over the past two years, to Hope Hospice for their compassionate support in Wes’s final weeks, and especially to Dawn Moore of Cypress at Home for her many years of care and support for Wes and his family. Interment will be in New Hampshire at a future time when it is safe to travel. If you wish to honor Wes, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a local food bank to help support those in need during these challenging times.