A little girl born to a famous cowboy actor and singer named Roy Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans. Both parents were devout Christians. The story of Roy’s conversion was printed in the March 1953 issue of Guideposts magazine. Much of the following material is from that article. Like many famous people, Roy had a humble beginning.
His family lived in a small home-built houseboat with only three tiny rooms. Roy and his three sisters went to a one-room school house just outside of Portsmouth, Ohio. Since shoes were a luxury, Roy's shoes came off after the last snow and didn’t go back on until fall. Roy earned a dollar a week ploughing corn on a neighbor’s farm. He later quit school and went to work in a shoe factory to help his father pay the bills.
When the family went to California to visit family, Roy fell in love with the west and got a job driving a gravel truck in Lawndale, California. During his spare time he practiced on his guitar and dreamed of some day making a living with his music. He even joined with a couple of friends and formed a trio called The Texas Outlaws. They lived together in a one room apartment and hunted rabbits to have something to eat. Roy fell in love, got married, and had three children. “Then, as often happens to a guy who wanders into Hollywood, I had a lucky break. I got a spot in a picture and my film career started. When my wife died during the birth of our third child, I was faced with a demanding career and the responsibilities of raising three fine children.”
That’s when Roy met a beautiful rising film star named Dale Evans. With the unanimous consent of his children, they were married December 31,1948. Roy was not a Christian at that time. One Sunday morning Dale casually mentioned that it was a beautiful day to go to church. Roy always made excuses. Dale never gave up, and it wasn’t long her husband gave his heart to Christ. Roy later wrote: “To some people, religion may come in one big emotional experience. I moved to it a step at a time: regular attendance at church, reading a few passages from the Bible, saying Grace. A warm quality grew into our family life. It was a spiritual kind of love that makes you want to do something for others … I never had enough education to understand theology, but when a fellow like Tim Spencer [cofounder of the vocal group The Sons of the Pioneers] stands up before a group like this and tells frankly how his belief in Jesus Christ helped him change from a drunk to a hard-working citizen, then Christianity comes alive to me.
Roy appeared in ninety motion pictures, recorded twoo hundred song, and hosted his own television show. He is the only country singer to be inducted twice into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1950, at the top of his career, he and Dale made a decision to include a religious song in each of their live performances. When offered a lucrative opportunity to perform at the huge Madison Square Garden World Championship Rodeo, they were told to delete the religious segment of their show or their contract would be cancelled. When Roy and Dale refused to compromise, the management eventually relented, and Roy and Dale produced one of the largest crowds in the history of the Garden. Roy and Dale appeared many times in Billy Graham Crusades. Dale also was famous. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, received a second star for her contributions to television, and was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
But now to the focus of our story. Dale wrote twenty books. Her most popular book was Angel Unaware published in 1953. Dale wrote this book as a tribute to their daughter, Robin Elizabeth Rogers. Robin was born August 26, 1950, and died in infancy August 24,1952. She was born with Down syndrome. Instead of placing Robin in an institution as some suggested, the Rogers family celebrated her as an angel sent to them from heaven.
As you know, the Scriptures warn: “Be not forget to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2) Even though Robin lived on earth a little less than two years, Dale was convinced that her precious baby was on a divine mission. Dale wrote in the foreword: “Our baby came into the world with an appalling handicap, as you will discover when you read her story. I believe with all my heart that God sent her on a two-year mission to our household, to strengthen us spiritually and to draw us closer together in the knowledge and love and fellowship of God. It has been said that tragedy and sorrow never leave us where they find us. In this instance, both Roy and I are grateful to God for the privilege of learning some great lessons of truth through His tiny messenger, Robin Elizabeth Rogers. This is Robin's story. This is what I, her mother, believe she told our Heavenly Father shortly after eight p.m. on August 24, 1952.”
Dale wrote the book Iias though Robin was returning to heaven and reporting to God. After her two-year assignment was over, she said to God: “OH FATHER, it’s good to be home again!” Then Robin gave a “report” to God that makes you reach for the Kleenex. From Dale’s perspective Robin was a smashing success, not only in touching the lives of the Roger’s family, but millions of others as well. Among other things, the publishing of her book made a dramatic difference in the way society viewed children who are born with special needs. All of the royalties from this book were donated to the National Association for Retarded Children.
Job wrote: “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.”(Job 14:1) Please learn a lesson from Robin Elizabeth Rogers. Try to see today’s troubles through the eyes of an angel. That’s what Roy and Dale Rogers did, and we can do it too.
John T. Catrett, III Refuge Care Hospice Chaplain