Loretta Rogers: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Canadian philanthropist (1939–2022)}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|04|13}}

| birth_place = [[London]], England, UK

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|06|11|1939|04|13}}

| death_place = [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada

| spouse = {{marriage|[[Edward S. Rogers Jr.|Ted Rogers]]|1963|2008|end=died}}

| father = [[Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere]]

'''Loretta Anne Rogers''' ({{née}} '''Robinson'''; April 13, 1939 – June 11, 2022) was an English-born Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist who was a director of [[Rogers Communications]]. She was the wife of [[Edward S. Rogers Jr.|Ted Rogers]], the company's founding president and CEO. In 2015, ''[[Forbes]]'' estimated her net worth at US$5.5 billion.<ref name=Forbes>{{Cite web|title=Loretta Robinson|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/loretta-robinson/|website=[[Forbes]]|date=March 2, 2015}}</ref>

==Early life and education==

Rogers was born on April 13, 1939, in [[London]], England.<ref name=Hasselt>{{Cite book|author=Caroline Van Hasselt|title=High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wt8ulI7RV9oC&pg=PT83|access-date=May 23, 2019|date=March 17, 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-73974-7|page=83}}</ref> She was the younger child and only daughter of [[Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere]], and wife Maysie Gasque (died 1989). Her father was a British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician who was granted the hereditary title of [[Baron Martonmere]] in 1964. He served as [[Governor of Bermuda]] from 1964 to 1972. Her mother, Maysie Gasque, was an American with ties to [[F. W. Woolworth Company]] through her uncle-in-law [[Hubert T. Parson]], who served as Woolworth's president; thus making Gasque an heiress to the Woolworth fortune.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-a-beautiful-soul-rogers-family-matriarch-loretta-anne-rogers-dies-at/ | title=Loretta Rogers, co-founder and director of Rogers, was a bridge between family members | first=Alexandra | last=Posadzki | work=[[The Globe and Mail]] | date=2022-06-11 | access-date=2022-06-12}}</ref>

Rogers held a [[Bachelor of Fine Arts]] degree from the [[University of Miami]].<ref name=Hasselt /> She has received honorary doctorates from the [[University of Western Ontario]], [[Ryerson University]], and the [[University of Toronto]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-07 |title=Loretta Rogers - Honorary Degree Ceremony |url=https://www.president.utoronto.ca/loretta-rogers-honorary-degree-ceremony/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Office of the President |language=en-CA}}</ref>

==Career==

Rogers had served as a non-independent director of Rogers Communications Inc. since December 1979. She was also a director of Rogers Media Inc., Rogers Telecommunications Inc., Rogers Cable Inc., and Rogers Wireless Communications Inc.<ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp? "Loretta Anne Rogers"], Bloomberg L.P. (Id=766532&privcapId=378755), accessed November 1, 2017.</ref>

===Philanthropy===

With her husband, Ted Rogers, she established the Loretta A. Rogers Chair in Eating Disorders at Toronto General & Western Hospital, part of the [[University Health Network]], where she served on the foundation board from 2005, and where the Ted Rogers and Family Chair in Heart Function was established in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tgwhf.ca/about-us/our-board-of-directors/loretta-anne-rogers/|publisher=Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation|title=Loretta Anne Rogers|website=tgwhf.ca|access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref> This was complemented by the Ted Rogers Centre of Excellence in Heart Function in 2012.{{citation needed|date= June 2022}}

==Personal life==

She married [[Edward S. Rogers Jr.|Ted Rogers]] on September 25, 1963.<ref name=Macleans>{{Cite web|date=December 2, 2008|url=http://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/edward-samuel-ted-rogers/|title= Edward Samuel 'Ted' Rogers|website=Maclean's|access-date=April 6, 2015}}</ref> Together, they had four children: Lisa, [[Edward S. Rogers III|Edward]], Melinda and Martha.<ref name=Macleans />

Rogers' only son, [[Edward S. Rogers III|Edward Rogers III]], is the chairman of Rogers Communications and the Rogers Control Trust, which controls the majority of the voting shares of Rogers Communications.{{citation needed|date= June 2022}}

Her daughter Melinda Rogers-Hixson founded Rogers Venture Partners, the technology investment arm headquartered in [[San Francisco]]. She is the vice-chair of the Rogers Control Trust.<ref name=Forbes /><ref>[https://torontolife.com/city/edward-rogers-the-man-who-would-be-king/ Pullen, Kellt] "The Man Who Would Be King: inside the ruthless battle for control of the $34-billion Rogers empire"; ''Toronto Life''; October 16, 2014.</ref>

==Death==

Rogers died at her home in [[Toronto]] on June 11, 2022, at the age of 83.<ref>[https://www.mymcmurray.com/2022/06/11/loretta-rogers-passes-away-at-83/ Loretta Rogers passes away at 83]</ref><ref name="CanPress-obit">{{cite news |title=Loretta Rogers, family matriarch and longtime telecom director, dead at 83 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/loretta-rogers-obituary-telecom-director-1.6485871 |access-date=11 June 2022 |work=CBC News |agency=Canadian Press |date=11 June 2022}}</ref>

[[Category:Canadian billionaires]]

[[Category:Canadian women in business]]

[[Category:Canadian women philanthropists]]

[[Category:Female billionaires]]

[[Category:Rogers family (Canada)]]