Virginia Rogge

Born in the Philippines on August 16, 1940, Virginia was the eldest in a Catholic family of 6 children. Her parents John and Victoria Miranda were school teachers in rural Surigao del Sur in the Island of Mindanao. Early on, their children were taught that education was a necessity in life. A college education was not an option or a choice. Virginia went to Cantilan Elementary School and Cantilan High School. For college, she attended the University of Santo Tomas in Manila as a pre-med student. After a couple of years, she took a year off to get over a chronic illness and went back to college in Cebu City at the University of Visayas. It was there where she decided to enter the nursing profession instead of seeking a medical degree. She qualified to train at Cebu (Velez) Gen. Hospital School of Nursing. For specialization, she applied as a foreign exchange student, and was accepted to attend Cook County Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago to specialize in surgery. Sponsored by the American Nurses Association (ANA), her training as a nurse was divided into two phases. For the first phase, ANA arranged for her placement at Cook County Hospital. For the second phase, she was given the choice of assignment. She was inspired to select Colorado as her choice for her next assignment after seeing the movie The Unsinkable Molly Brown, which was filmed in the state. To her, Colorado was the ultimate place of beauty and awe, which she wanted to see, inhabit, and experience. She was accepted at what is now the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, then known as Colorado General Hospital. She recalled that the training that she received was excellent, and the experience was much enjoyable and gloriously satisfying. Colorado was all she expected it to be. At a Christmas party for hospital employees during her last year at Colorado General Hospital, her good friend, Rosie Schmidt (now Rosie Beck), arranged for a blind date with Gary Rogge. Gary proposed marriage to her after only two weeks of knowing her, and would become her husband of forty-eight years. Meanwhile though, she accepted a job offer to work as a graduate nurse in Stockholm, Sweden. Her desire to travel and see the world were stronger than the desire to get married, then. Yet, despite being in Sweden for almost a year, she and Gary kept in contact. When Gary proposed yet again (this time via the phone), she accepted. Gary made travel plans to Sweden, and Virginia made plans for a semi-formal wedding at a Catholic Church. They were married a week later after Gary's arrival. They traveled extensively throughout Europe, before going back to the Philippines in order for her to fulfill a commitment as an exchange student stipulating to practice nursing back in the home country for a minimum of two years. It is after those two years that their son, Randy, was born. The young family came back to Colorado with only $16 in their pocket. She got a job as a scrub tech at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver while reviewing for the Colorado State Board of Nursing. She started working at a new hospital called Aurora Community Hospital (now The Medical Center of Aurora, South) after passing State Board and becoming a Registered Nurse. The Rogge's purchased a new home in Aurora. Virginia worked at the hospital for twenty-seven years earning her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing and a Master's Degree in Health and Human Services courtesy of the employee tuition reimbursement program. A lateral transfer to Centrum Surgical Center afforded her a shorter commute to work. She worked at Centrum until her retirement. Gary and Virginia loved to travel, and she shared with her friends her albums full of photos from all over the world. She also enjoyed entertaining friends at their home, which she and Gary built themselves and became the pride of their lives. More than that though, she dearly loved her son Randy and his family. She loved her grandchildren Jessica, Andrew, and Johnny, and would take them with her travels to Mexico, Europe, and the East Coast where her sister Edna and her family resides. Friends and family were very important components of her life. Her faith in God was apparent in the way she lived. She had a good and generous heart, and she would assist nieces and nephews in the Philippines go to good schools, earn college degrees, and lead successful lives. A light-hearted personality with and easy laugh won her a lot of friends who she treasured for years. The Association of perioperative Registered Nurses was the joy of her professional life. She would not miss an AORN Congress. She was a dedicated nurse and an advocate for the nursing profession. She received an AORN chapter award for outstanding clinical partner. Having a sister who is also an RN and several cousins and nieces can attest to that. Virginia believed that life is to be enjoyed, and she did just that. Whether it was traveling, sewing, or lunching with friends, or worshipping God, Virginia did all those with much love and enthusiasm. She will be missed, but God has gained another nurse in His heavenly operating room. Please join us in celebrating Virginia's life, a Rosary service will be held on August 28, 2014 at the Horan & McConaty chapel on Parker Road at 7:00pm, the family will receive friends prior to the Rosary from 5:00-7:00pm. On Friday August 29, 2014 at St. Thomas More a funeral mass will be held at 11:30 am.