Kerri Roger: John Jay High School mourns the death of beloved teacher and coach

John Morgan stood behind a fence adjacent to the field, but he was within earshot of a conversation between his daughter and her coach following a game.

Cat Morgan was accustomed only to straight A's, so it did peeve her a little that geometry was a struggle, and that was mentioned in passing. The field hockey coach immediately offered words of encouragement, assuring the 11th-grader the material would eventually seem easy to her, and offered afterschool tutoring if it didn't.

This was despite already having a full slate, teaching her own math classes and having her evenings occupied by practices and games.

"She was so sincere and kind about it," John Morgan said. "Catherine always felt really supported by her, but that moment made a strong impression on us."

Kerri Roger made a similar impression on plenty of people during her two decades as an educator at John Jay High School, leaving an indelible mark on her students and athletes.

It is because of those qualities, and the many relationships forged, that the school community and beyond now mourn deeply after the beloved teacher and coach died Thursday following a battle with esophageal cancer. The Poughkeepsie native was 44.

"We're stunned and saddened, and our hearts go out to her family and loved ones," said Wappingers district superintendent Dwight Bonk, who was formerly a principal at John Jay.

"The mood was somber in school because the kids, the parents and the staff, everybody, adored her. She was a phenomenal teacher with a great personality.”

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Calling hours will be 2-6 p.m. Monday at McHoul Funeral Home in Hopewell Junction. The funeral service will begin 10 a.m. Tuesday at Hopewell Reformed Church.

Kerri Roger was the daughter of two local teachers and her parents’ profession had a profound influence on her as a small child. It was so much so that she and her sister, Robin, often played “school” at home.

“She always had to be the teacher,” Robin Roger McKenzie said with a chuckle. “I'm 16 months younger, so I would always have to be the student. But as a big sister, she was always great about including me in everything. Her friends were my friends.”

That passion for teaching, and helping mold youngsters, carried into adulthood and endured until her final days.

Kerri Roger took a leave from teaching to undergo treatment after she was diagnosed in summer 2022, but she returned to the classroom last fall and worked as often as she could until her condition worsened recently.

“I knew that she was sick, but I was happy to hear that she got back to teaching, knowing that she was doing what she loved,” said Cat Morgan, who now is a graduate student at Manhattanville College and aspires to become a teacher. “Being with her students and inspiring them meant so much to her, and the kids knew it, so we gravitated to her.”

The high school provided grief counselors for the students and staff on Friday.

“She would give you the shirt off her back,” said Rachel Tama, a 2021 John Jay graduate who now stars for the SUNY New Platz field hockey team. “She was a great coach and an even better person. She cared deeply about each of her players and students and was always there when you needed her.”

Alyssa Caswell lauded her former coach for her willingness to lend an ear and offer support, even in matters unrelated to sports or schoolwork. There even are the fond memories of Roger joining the field hockey team in its conditioning workouts to make the training seem a little less grueling.

“She will forever be missed,” Caswell said. “The world is a little less bright without her in it.”

Kerri Roger graduated from John Jay High School in 1997 and went on to SUNY Geneseo, majoring in mathematics and competing on the rowing team, before returning to teach and coach field hockey and crew at her alma mater. She later earned a master’s degree in Education from Mount Saint Mary College.

“She was miserable in that year away from teaching,” said Robin Roger McKenzie, who lives in Ithaca. “She said, 'What's the quality of life if I can't do what I love?' It was a blessing for her to be in the company of her students and other teachers.”

Kristen Perry, a former pupil turned colleague, said Roger "loved us dearly,” helping fuel a passion for field hockey and inspire her career path.

Perry followed in her mentor's footsteps, becoming a teacher and eventually taking over as coach of the field hockey team. When she took maternity leave in 2017, Roger stepped in as the head coach and the two later served as co-coaches.

Roger led the Patriots to the Dutchess County regional final during the COVID-shortened fall 2020 season before stepping down the following year. She and Perry also aided the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation and helped organize the team's annual cancer fundraiser in support of Liam Craane, a young boy who has battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

"She was one of the most selfless people I'd ever met,” Perry said. “She took care of everyone around her and brought love and kindness to everyone who crossed paths with her."

In fact, students said, Roger looked out for kids in need, even at times providing them books, food and holiday gifts. Her mother also was diagnosed with cancer in 2022 and Kerri Roger assisted her father, John, in taking care of Susan Roger while enduring her own illness, until Susan died last March.

“It’s been hard for us,” Robin Roger McKenzie said of the surviving family, which includes their dad and three siblings. “We knew it was coming and we didn’t want her to suffer, but we also know that we didn’t get enough time with her.”

The family will lean on each other in the coming months, her sister said, and she promised there will be laughs shared as they reflect on their favorite memories with Kerri. But, she acknowledged, there also will be “lots of tears” brought on by the fact their sister had so much more to give and so many goals left to accomplish.

In time, perhaps, they will find solace in the fact that she did fulfill a significant goal, giving so much of herself and bettering the lives of so many others.

John Jay High School has established the Kerri Roger Memorial Scholarship which, Robin Roger McKenzie said, will help ensure her sister’s name lives on. The family is “eternally grateful,” she said, for the faculty rallying around Kerri during her battle.

“She had a huge heart… and she wanted to see all her players do the very best they could, and to always be positive and kind,” said Ashley Tricarico, who now plays for Hartwick College. “She taught us that becoming a better player was more than just on the field; that we have to grow as people, too. John Jay was so lucky to have had a person like her.”

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Beloved John Jay teacher, coach Kerri Roger succumbs to cancer at 44