DANVILLE - People in Danville and across the country heard Rev. Dennis Rogers' words of calm after a bomb ripped through First Assembly of God Church on May 25, 1998.

Rogers died on Friday after a long battle with cancer.

"He handled (the bombing of his church) with much dignity and compassion," former Danville mayor Bob Jones remembered. "He gave all of us the leadership we needed.

"He was the person of the hour."

Mayor Scott Eisenhauer met Rogers just after the bombing.

"I immediately admired his strength," Eisenhauer said. "He was determined that (the explosion) would not detour the people in his church from what they knew was right.

"I saw him many times after that," he said. "My admiration only grew stronger every time I spoke with him, worked with him or heard him speak."

Those who knew Rogers best said such composure was typical. So was the compassion he showed, even to the family of the man suspected of bombing the church.

Sharon Rogers said after the suspect died in an explosion in his own garage, she and her husband visited the man's mother.

"We took her a pie," Sharon Rogers said. "After all, she'd lost her son."

His determination never seemed to falter.

"He's been ill since November of 2004, but he still preached every Sunday morning," parishioner Gary Hettmansberger said. "He did weddings and funerals, too, all up until January 1. That day, he was just unable to come out to the platform.

"Instead, he had all the parishioners file through his office. He gave everyone in the congregation a personal greeting.

"He said afterwards, 'In 40 years of ministry, this was my best day.'"

Hettmansberger added, "Not only did he tell us how to live, but he showed us how to die."

The memories flowed as Rogers' family gathered Saturday in his church office. They searched through his books and writings for words to comfort not just themselves, but his congregation, too.

"He loved Danville," Sharon Rogers said. "He loved the city, but most of all he loved the people."

She spoke about her husband's effort to clean up the neighborhood around the church.

"He was determined to get rid of the drug houses around it," she said. "Little by little, the church would buy them and then tear them down.

"In their place, we built a preschool."

Son Dennis Rogers, a former Danville High School football player, talked about his father's close relationship with the team.

"We'd just had a new video system installed here at church," the younger Rogers said. "Dad invited the team to come and watch the game videos Saturday mornings. The coaches would have him down on the field to pray with the team before a game. He was our chaplain for all the years I played."

One memory about his father and the team showed the generosity his son admired.

"There was a guy on the team who couldn't see to play with his sports goggles, but he didn't have the money to buy contacts," Rogers said. "My dad took him and bought him a pair. That's the way he was."

Two days before Rogers' death, his sister Karen presented him with a 1987 Buick Grand National. He'd owned the same car when it first came out and had a passion for muscle cars.

"We got him in the car," his son said, "and he asked, 'Where's the keys?' We actually took it for a ride.''

His memory will not soon fade in the city he loved.

"Dennis believed that the Lord brought us to Danville," Sharon Rogers said. "He often said, 'The greatest eulogy can be found in the fondest of memories.' We have so many."