Published: August 20, 2008 10:14 am         

Lakeland graduate killed in Afghanistan

BURR OAK, Mich. — A 29-year-old soldier who went to high school in Indiana has been killed while serving in Afghanistan.

The U.S. Department of Defense says staff Sgt. Kristopher Dan Rodgers of Burr Oak, Mich., died Saturday in the Korengal Valley when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle.

The Pentagon said Tuesday Rodgers was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

He was a 1998 graduate of Lakeland High School in LaGrange, Ind., said Greg Hackman of Hackman Family Funeral Homes in Sturgis, which is handling the arrangements. Rodgers played football at Lakeland.

Rodgers’ survivors include his wife, Selina, and their 3 1/2-year-old son, Kaden.

He was born in LaGrange and grew up in Howe.

Sgt. Rodgers served in Iraq before being sent to Afghanistan in July. He joined the Army in 2002.

A funeral is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at Sturgis Wesleyan Church.

Sgt. Kristopher Dan Rodgers

Staff Sgt. Kristopher Dan Rodgers, 28, of Burr Oak, Mich. and formerly of Howe, and a 1998 graduate of Lakeland High School in LaGrange was killed Saturday in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan while serving his country with the U.S. Army.

He was born Dec. 29, 1978, in LaGrange to Danny and Kathryn (Smith) Rodgers. He had lived in Howe most of his life.

On Oct. 2, 1999, he married Selina Schroeder in Three Rivers, Mich.

He had served in the U.S. Army for the past eight years. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Rodgers was an avid fan of the Chicago Bears and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was also a fan of the Detroit Red Wings and enjoyed food, fishing and playing golf.

He is survived by his wife Selina; 3-year-old son Kaden Dan Rodgers; mother Kathryn (Dennis) Wiard of Howe, step-sister Rachel Wiard of Sturgis; step-brother Joshua Wiard of Burr Oak; grandmothers Vivian Smith of Shipshewana and Rose Hinkleman of Adrian, Mich.; mother-in-law Cheryl (Pat) Evans of Three Rivers; father-in-law Douglas (Julie) Schroeder of Burr Oak; sisters-in-law Jane (her fiancée Richie Ultz) Reaper of Burr Oak, Hazel (Jacob) Shingledecker of Three Rivers, Jennifer Kurtz of Chicago, Charity Kurtz of Chicago and Haruka (Jason) Griffith of Burr Oak

He was preceded in death by his father and grandfathers James Smith and Bill Rodgers.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Hackman Family Funeral Homes, Rosenberg Chapel, 807 E. Chicago Road, Sturgis.

The funeral service will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Sturgis Wesleyan Church, 907 N. Nottawa Road. The Rev. Kevin Terrell of the Temple Baptist Church of Three Rivers and chaplain of the U.S. Army will officiate. Following the service a final committal and full military rites service will be held at Lakeland High School’s football stadium in LaGrange. Cremation will follow the service.

Memorial donations may be made to the family in care of Selina Rodgers, 110 S. Third St., Burr Oak, MI 49030.