In his later life, when Jim Rogers was asked to reflect upon
his father, Will Rogers, he said, “We grew up with two
men: WR and Dad.”
WR, of course, was the man in the
limelight, the hardworking, consummate performer and communicator.
Dad was the gentle, beloved father
of Will, Jr., Mary, Jim, and Fred, who died as an infant.
“My parents were ideal,”
Jim Rogers said. “One of the truest things Dad ever
said was, ‘The day I roped Betty was the greatest performance
of my life.’ And that’s true. If it had not been
for Betty Blake from Rogers, Arkansas, there never would have
been the Will Rogers much of the world knew and loved.”
At age twenty-nine, Will’s marriage
to Betty was a renewal of the foundation that had launched
him. A growing career became a booming success with the warmth
and wisdom of a loving, advising and inspiring wife. |
