Graydon O. Rogers
HAMILTON- Graydon O. Rogers, 79, of Madison Lane, Hamilton, passed away unexpectedly Sunday, May 2, 2021, at his home.
Gradie was born on Sept. 18, 1941, in Bainbridge, to the late Orin W. and E. Hope Rogers and was a graduate of Oneonta High School.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Army (1959-62), serving as a field operations specialist in the 229th Signal Company Battalion, Bremen, West Germany. Following his military service, he graduated from SUNY Delhi with a business degree.
On May 1, 1965, he married Rose Ann Zaccaria at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oneonta. Together they opened Rosie O’Gradie’s restaurant on River Street in Oneonta in 1970 to great success: a favorite neighborhood ‘hang-out’ which featured the occasional appearance of close friend Al Colone and his jazz band, Rumpus.
After 20 years in business management and engineering working for Bendix and Custom Electronics, Gradie purchased and operated JayCees Pizza Depot (Voorheesville) with close friend and business partner, Rich Fink. In his later years, Gradie became a licensed real estate agent with his son Justin’s brokerage, New York Trophy Properties in Sherburne.
Gradie was an avid fly fisherman and spent a good deal of his life frequenting his favorite haunts on the East and West Branch of the Delaware and Beaverkill Rivers with his friends and family. He immersed himself in the science and craft, studying the life cycle of trout and aquatic entomology. He would often pause while fishing to photograph or sketch his observations. A master fly tier and builder of custom flyrods, he helped found and proliferate what is now known as the Dave Brandt Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Oneonta.
He was a woodsman and naturalist, developing special talents for nature photography, sketching, writing, and painting; his work appearing in Kaatskill Life magazine, The Daily Star, and the 1998 publication “Fly Fishing the Beaverkill” by Eric Peper and Gary LaFontaine.
Gradie enjoyed spending time with his loving wife, family and pets, entertaining visitors, or having his sons over to watch sporting events mixed with lively banter regarding current events. He loved taking rides on backcountry roads looking for good nature material to photograph, oftentimes transforming his photography into watercolor artwork.
Surviving are his wife, Rose Ann; children, Jason G. Rogers of Voorheesville and Justin Rogers (Kathleen Todd) of Hamilton; sister, Kathleen (Alex) Wall of Belgrade, Maine; brother, William Rogers Sr. of South Edmeston; grandchildren, Julia Rogers, Grace and Hannah Todd-Rogers; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister-in-law, Carole Rogers.
In keeping with Gradie’s wishes, there will be no services or calling hours.
Arrangements by Burgess & Tedesco Funeral Home, 25 Broad St., Hamilton.
To share condolences and sign the Book of Memories online, visit www.burgessandtedescofuneralhomes.com.
Published on May 8, 2021
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