Lorraine Rodgers - Adult Bronze III 2005 Natls

[Zoomana]

I was wondering if anyone here knows this lady.

My mom always cuts out skating stuff from the local paper for me. Unfortunately, this was an obituary.

"Lorraine Rodgers, 51, of Quincy, an award-winning figure skater, died of kidney cancer....Miss Rodgers won the United States Figure Skating Championship in the Adult Bronze Ladies Class III category in April 2005 at Overland Park, Kansas."

I think maybe she used to post here?

Anyway, very sad, I'm glad at least last year she had a dream moment come true.

[fractals]

I am so sorry to hear that...
I have not seen her on the ice this year.
Best wishes to her family.

[Debbie S]

I never met her, but she did post here - her screen name was Raine. What sad news. My condolences to her friends and family.

[Terri C]

I never met her, but she did post here - her screen name was Raine. What sad news. My condolences to her friends and family.

OMG!!! :cry: :cry:
A death in the skatingforums family- this is saddening.

[manleywoman]

So sad. Did she let anyone here know she was ill?

It is wonderful that she was able to win last year.

[Joan]

Some of the other ladies in Bronze IV this year (the age category that Lorraine would have been in) were signing a card for someone who had cancer - I bet it was her. Since this was my first time at AN, I did not know who they were talking about. This is very sad.

[jazzpants]

OMG!!! RAINE!!! R.I.P!!! :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Mrs Redboots]

Oh, I am sorry. I corresponded with her briefly at one stage, although I don't think I met her at AN last year. How very sad. And she was younger than me.

[Thin-Ice]

Yes, we were signing the card for Lorraine to let her know we were thinking of her. Many of us who competed with her last year knew she was sick. But she was being very quiet about it.. didn't want people to know how sick she was... although some of us did because of our on-ice connections to other people who knew. (She died on 3/27, but most of us didn't find out until 3/30 or 31.)

This was a re-occurrence of cancer; she was diagnosed a couple of months after her win at AN '05. She and I corresponded and she had lost her DVD of the Final Round.. so I made her another copy (SHHHH! Don't tell anyone -- since I'm pretty sure that violates the copyright! -- but I'm so glad I could give that to her. Her coach sent word that she watched the DVD over and over while undergoing medical treatments)... but she still didn't want me to know exactly why she was off the ice (although I did).

And after the Bronze IV Final, all 12 finalists gathered for a photo of the entire group.. and we were talking about what a hard year it had been for last year's Bronze III/now IV. The documentary crew found out and we talked to them about that, and of course we started by talking about Lorraine's death.

One of our group had a dream the night before Final round (and before she knew Lorraine had died) that she went out to skate.. and as they called her name she told the judges she needed to do something first, and then wrote "For Lorraine" in the foggy glass where everyone could see it. When she found out Lorraine had died, it gave her the chills.. along with everyone who heard the story.

One of my fondest memories from AN '05 will be after we all skated, most of us had gathered in one dressing room. Most of us were being kind of silly and a bit loud.. except Lorraine, who was sitting there taking it all in, but not saying anything. One of the skaters made a prediction of which skaters should leave on skates and costumes for the awards photo and included Lorraine as one of the medalists, although she said she doubted she would medal. A few minutes later, the daughter of one of the competitors came in and said "The results are up".. so we all raced down the hallway -- sounding more like a herd of elephants than ladylike skaters -- and Lorraine was one of the first to see the results... and when she did, there was this amazing SHRIEK -- it was (the formerly quiet) Lorraine, reacting to seeing her name at the top of the standings. We all laughed about that... and when we found out she was sick again, every skater said her first thought was "I'm SO glad she won last year!".

[NickiT]

That's really sad. I vaguely recall her posting on here. May she be at rest and no longer suffering now.

Nicki

[Mel On Ice]

:cry: omg... I'm so sorry to hear this. I always enjoyed Raine and her posts, and was pleasantly surprised to put that together with her skating last year. What a loss to the skating community.

[sk8er1964]

Wow. I remember meeting her - she was very, very nice. RIP, Raine.

[Isk8NYC]

How sad. Cancer is such a hideous blight that takes even healthy people.

May her family and friends be comforted by the knowledge that she really loved skating. The competitions and friends (don't forget the DVD!) were important to her. In viewing Raine's profile, I see that her last activity on our Board was on 3/25/2006.

God bless her. She and her family/friends are in my prayers today.

[Raine]

Hello Everyone,

Unfortunately, this is not Lorraine, but her sister, Marie. (I knew her password - she always used the same one.)

I used to go to some of the local competitions to watch Lorraine, so I may have met some of you. I want to thank all of you for the lovely comments.

Marie Rodgers

remars@aol.com

[Figureskates]

I am deeply saddened by this news.

I had a couple of long chats with Lorraine at Lake Placid in April of 2004. She was so appreciative of all the work us volunteers put in for the Adult Nationals. She said next time around when it came to Lake Placid she would love to volunteer as well.

RIP, Lorraine:cry: :cry:

[doubletoe]

What a poignant reminder for all of us to love every minute we have on the ice, whether we're flying or falling.

Wherever Lorraine is now, I hope she is landing axels every day, on the best ice the Universe has to offer!

[Figureskates]

I have a sweatshirt from the 2004 AN in Lake Placid that has her name on it.

I have front row seats to COI in Boston tomorrow. I am going to wear that sweatshirt to the show....I think Lorriaine would enjoy it!

[kitkat]

I remember reading several posts by Raine. I also hope she is skating faster and jumping higher than ever in the next deminsion.

Figureskates, I think that is an awesome idea.