Joanne Rogers, Fred Rodgers’ widow, also known as Mr. Rogers of TV, died. She was 92 years old.
A spokesman for the McFeely-Rogers Foundation, co-founded by Fred Rogers, confirmed to Fox News that she passed away at 12 noon on Thursday at her home in Pittsburgh.
The cause of death is “heart problems,” said the spokesman.
Fred Rogers Productions also announced Joanne’s death on Twitter.
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“Fred Rogers Productions is deeply saddened by the passing of Joanne Rogers,” said the production on declaration. “Fred Rogers’ loving partner for over 50 years, she continued her shared commitment to support children and families after her death as chairman of Fred Rogers Productions.”
In a follow-up message, the company praised Joanne as “a brilliant and talented musician, a wonderful defender of the arts and a dear friend to everyone in our organization”.
“We extend our most sincere condolences to the family of Joanne and to the thousands of people who were privileged to know and love her”, the producer said.
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Born Sara Joanne Byrd, the musician was a classical-trained pianist, according to a biography provided to Fox News.
She met Fred Rogers while attending Rollins College in Florida and married him in 1952. They remained married until his death in 2003 and shared two children: James Rogers and John Rogers, according to Biography.com.
Joanne Rogers (left), wife of TV icon Fred Rogers (right), died of “heart problems” at the age of 92.
(Fred Rogers Productions)
After his time at Rollins, Rogers received a master’s degree in music at Florida State University and taught at Chatham College Preparatory School and Carlow College.
She was also “involved in Fred Rogers’ first program ‘The Children’s Corner’ on PBS / WQED”, according to her biography.
In addition, IMDb claims that she appeared in a series of episodes of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, the 2018 documentary “Wn’t You Be My Neighbor?” and she had a cameo in the Tom Hanks film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”.
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The city of Pittsburgh, where “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was produced, also released a statement of mourning.
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“One of # Pittsburgh’s favorite neighbors. Joanne and Fred changed our city forever,” the city wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for your dedication to @FredRogersPro, @wqed, our children and our community.”