Walter Rogers; 8-Term Congressman Was at Kennedy Assassination
Walter E. Rogers, 92, a Texan who served eight terms in the House of Representatives, died May 31 of a heart attack at a hospital in Naples, Fla.
Born in Texarkana, Ark., and raised in McKinney, Texas, Rogers graduated from the University of Texas Law School. He practiced law in Pampa, Texas, and served as city attorney and district attorney there before being elected as a Democrat to the state’s 18th Congressional District.
Serving in the House from 1951 to 1966, Rogers played a prominent role in the congressional hearings on the rigging of popular television quiz shows in the 1950s. He was in the motorcade carrying President Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated. He also was in the House of Representatives in 1954 when Puerto Rican nationalists attacked the assembly, firing onto the floor.
After leaving Congress, Rogers served 12 years as president of the Independent Natural Gas Assn. of America in Washington until retiring in 1978.
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