Timothy Webster Rodgers, 72, of Carrboro, North Carolina, died suddenly at home on October 21, 2025, after living with heart disease for many years.
Tim was born on November 1, 1952 in Trieste, Italy, when it was the Free Territory of Trieste, a short-lived independent city-state between Italy and Yugoslavia. His father was serving in the US Army there at the time. He was the son of the late Karl Freeman Rodgers, Jr. & Ruth Jane Flanzer, and the stepson of the late Erik Paul Kahn. He was named after his great-granduncle, Edwin Ambrose Webster, a painter who was known for his love of color and for opening the first modernist art school in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Tim married Barbara Lynn Chomiak on May 10, 1975 in Ashford, Connecticut.
Tim was predeceased by a brother, Tobias Kahn. He is survived by his wife; four brothers, three sisters-in-law, and a brother-in-law, Daniel & Frances Rodgers of Pinehurst, NC, Matthew Kahn of Luxembourg, Paul Kahn of Tavernier, FL, Joshua Pendragon & Margaret Scott of England, and Beverly Chomiak & John Vitti of Storrs, CT; three children and their spouses, Nathaniel & Shannon Rodgers of Kingsland, GA, Jonathan & Jannai Rodgers of Carrboro, and Larisa Rodgers & Dimitri Velednitsky of Carrboro; four grandchildren, Ella Duerr of Hickory, NC, Eliza Kolodnicki of Preston, CT, and Katherine Velednitsky and Finn Velednitsky, both of Carrboro; and eight nieces and nephews.
Tim was a graduate of Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School in Orange, MA. He was employed by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, CT from 1974-1980 as a shipfitter, shipfitter foreman, and trade planner. From 1981 to 1998 he worked for the Groton Public Schools, moving up from a custodian to an MIS Support Analyst. In 1998 he began contracting at Pfizer, Inc. with various companies, holding positions of desktop support, system analyst, and project manager. In 2012 he started at Hewlett-Packard as a project manager and worked there until he retired in 2017.
After retiring Tim discovered his passion for amateur radio, also known as ham radio. The seed for this blossoming interest was planted in childhood when he watched his grandparents use radios to communicate with each other while driving in separate vehicles. His call sign KC1TWR is now a silent key. He was a member of the Southeastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Society (SECARS) and the Southeastern Connecticut Radio Amateur Mobile System (SCRAMS). He participated in many of their club activities, including nets, field days, semi-annual auctions, foxhunting, and on-air events. After moving to North Carolina in 2023 he joined the Durham FM Association and the Orange County Radio Amateurs, Inc. and became just as engaged as he had been in Connecticut.
Tim & Barbara lived in southeastern Connecticut for forty-seven years, raising our children by the sea in Groton. He was my best friend, dearly loved for his sense of humor, unwavering support, helpfulness, generosity, patience, and kindness. Our happiest memories were made on our many trips to Cape Cod and on our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Norway. At home he enjoyed feeding the squirrels walnuts, and had set up an often-visited birdbath with a mini-fountain in it on our deck. He would toss apples out for the deer. We enjoyed birdwatching and exploring different trails in the woods, both in Connecticut and around our new North Carolina home.
Tim especially looked forward to spending time with Nate, Jon and Larisa after they had grown up and moved so far away. Between trips to visit them there were lots of video chats. He never tired of offering fatherly advice as he kept up with what was going on in their lives. His five younger brothers also lived far away, and he stayed close and in touch with them, too. After Toby died, the remaining four started having Zoom sessions, where they shared great conversations and played darts with each other over the distances. He eagerly anticipated these meetings every week.
After the pandemic Tim realized how badly he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren and was extremely happy, in spite of his failing health, for the two plus years he had a chance to live down the road from them and be such a big part of their lives. Katherine and Finn loved their Grandpa for his endless energy in playing with them and his always showing up with sprinkled donuts for them.
A memorial gathering in Mystic, Connecticut will be planned for next spring.
Memorial donations can be mailed to Durham FM Association, 3605 Dairy Pond Place, Durham, NC 27705 or to Orange County Radio Amateurs, PO Box 294, Carrboro, NC 27510.
