Remembering Harriet Rogers
By Melissa Karen Sances | Community Corner
Published in Northampton Living April 2025
Photo by Nikki Gardner Photography
Photo Courtesy of the Ahlemeyer Family
We are sad to announce the passing of Harriet Rogers, the 98-year-old phenom that we featured in April 2024. Born on May 10, 1926, Rogers was the longest living resident at Rockridge Retirement Community, where she passed on February 28, 2025. One of the first female bankers in the area, she was an unassuming trailblazer for women with an unmatched zest for life.
As a tribute to Harriet, here are some excerpts from our April 2024 feature:
“Besides being the incredibly loved longest living resident at Rockridge, the 97-year-old was one of the first female bankers in the area, rising through the ranks from bookkeeper to executive vice president over a 47-year career. This was no small feat, considering that she graduated from Deerfield High School in the middle of World War 2. At the time, women had only been allowed to vote for two decades. The Civil Rights Movement hadn’t happened. The National Organization of Women didn’t exist. Sandra Day O’Connor hadn’t ascended to the Supreme Court, and Sally Ride hadn’t walked on the moon.
“But Harriet – she had potential. At Deerfield High, she was one of the starters on the girls’ basketball team … At 4’11, the 'class midget' was a dynamo on and off the court …
“[Her grandnephew] Brian remembers visiting her often during the 1980s, when the bank, located in the town center, was a vibrant part of the community. ‘When you walked into that bank, it felt like she was in charge,’ he says proudly. ‘She knew what was going on, everybody was asking her questions, all the customers knew who she was, and she knew everyone. I mean it was like the world revolved around her.’”
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