Pilot who oversaw D’Iberville’s business boom dies of COVID-19. ‘Mr. Hank did a lot.’
He oversaw the construction of The Promenade and Scarlet Pearl Casino in D’Iberville, yet many people in the community may not be familiar with other contributions made by David “Hank” Rogers, or know that he saved a life.
Rogers, 68, of Biloxi, was one of several people who became ill with the coronavirus after attending a ball Dec. 12 at the Biloxi Yacht Club.
He died Monday, and his father died later the same evening.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Nativity BVM Cathedral in Biloxi. A funeral mass for Rogers will be at 10 a.m. Friday, according to Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home.
Rogers worked at the community development office in Biloxi for years and then as the building official and community development director in D’Iberville.
“We couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable man in all of the fields needed for our growing city,” said Deonne Olier, retired planning and zoning director for D’Iberville. The city was looking at Smart Coda and was annexing again, she said, and Rogers organized the hiring of more inspectors and the creation of a development review committee to oversee each new project in the small town.
“Mr. Hank did a lot to help all of the city departments and developers work well together. And everyone will always remember him for that,” she said.
Building boom in D’Iberville
His department oversaw the construction of new stores such as Academy Sports and Target, the addition of several car dealerships along Interstate 10, and the city’s first casino after 20 years of work. Rogers dedicated an inspector to be on-site while the Scarlet Pearl was under construction to help it open on schedule.
“Meeting with Hank the first time was like drinking water from a fire hydrant,” said City Manager Clay Jones. “Hank knew his job like no other and, just like me, he was blunt. I immediately knew that I needed Hank’s help to be successful. He was someone I could trust to tell me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear.”
Mike Strojny, owner of Strojny Financial Services and a longtime friend of Rogers, said he knows the skills Rogers brought to the job.
“I think the City of D’Iberville will never realize the tremendous amount of good he did for that city,” Strojny said. When The Promenade shopping center was being built, Rogers negotiated terms with the developers that saved the city millions of dollars, he said.
Flying high
Rogers grew up in D’Iberville and got his pilot’s license when he was just 16.
Strojny said he and Rogers would rent or borrow planes and fly whenever they could.
“We had some of the most interesting flights when we would debate how to come through clouds,” Strojny recalls. He still chuckles when he remembers flying into the Oxford airport after one of those legendary debates, and he said their passengers were “transfixed” by their flying skills as they came in for the landing.
“He was a very good pilot. That’s all he really wanted to do,” Strojny said.
Jones said that when his son, Clayton, showed an interest in aviation, they met early one Saturday morning at Stennis airport where Rogers kept his plane.
“As I walked around the hangar, Hank took the time to talk to Clayton about aviation and life, in general,” Jones said. “I knew Hank would treat him like he treated me, telling the truth and never sugar-coating anything. That was Hank.”
He became the wing commander for the local Civil Air Patrol, which flew over the Coast after Katrina to look for bodies and over the oil spill in 2010 to report on where the oil was traveling.
He also helped organize Wreaths Across America at the Biloxi National Cemetery to honor veterans during the holidays.
And an account in the Sun Herald tells how he was honored by the Civil Air Patrol for saving a life when he was dining out and performed the Heimlich maneuver on someone who was choking.
Family time
He was deeply committed to his family, said son-in-law Yusef Adas.
Rogers grew up in D’Iberville and married Nancy, his high school sweetheart.
The birth of their two daughters, Tara and Scarlett, and grandson Caleb were among the highlights of his life, said Adas.
He met Tara in college, and they married when he finished law school. Scarlett and Kyle Green just were married the weekend after Thanksgiving, and her father walked her down the aisle.
“We spent a lot of time doing things with him,” Adas said. They went to Disney World together, and “he was the guy who made the gumbo at Thanksgiving.”
Adas bought a small plane three years ago to travel around the country for work. Rogers submitted his retirement so he could fly along, Adas said.
The shared a lot of time and talk, he said, and Hank was “happy, peaceful and serene” when flying.
Down in history
Rogers was known for his contributions to preserving local history and served as a life member and president of the D’Iberville Historical Society.
He proudly unveiled the first five historical markers at a city council meeting, and the project grew to eight markers by the end of his three-year term as president in 2017, said current president Keith Wilson.
“Hank knew how to get the support of others for anything he believed in,” Wilson said. “He knew how to get things accomplished, and he did so in a way that instilled a sense of confidence in me as a community leader.”
Rogers’ Facebook profile says, “I love flying, playing guitar and fishing, in that order.” To the point, Jones said. “He was a good man and a good friend, and those are hard to find these days.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
