Obituary of Mechelle Renee Rogers

Mechelle Renee Rogers, an Author, Stage Manager, Bed-and-Breakfast Owner, Receptionist, and a Woman of Faith, passed away after a long illness on Friday, October 12, 2018 at the Massachusetts General Hospital.  She was just 51 years old.

Mechelle was born in New York, New York.  She grew up and was educated in Farmingdale, New York.  She was a graduate of Half Hollow Hills High School.  She then earned her Associates Degree from Nassau Community College, her Bachelor of Science Degree from CW Post College, and then spent a year in England where she earned her Master’s Degree at Guildford School of Acting.  Over the years, she has had a very diverse career path.  She worked for several years at Disney world. She came back to New York and worked as a stage manager at several Long Island and Off-Broadway Theaters.  She loved the excitement and drama of being part of a stage production.  

During this period in her life, she also ran a 19 room bed and breakfast “The Swan View Manor” in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, where she enjoyed interacting with the guests, staging breakfasts, decorating the rooms, meeting celebrities, and just enriching her guests’ vacation experience.  When she moved to Burlington 10 years ago, she took a position as a receptionist at Reliance Dental Care in Bedford.  And amongst all these careers, she managed to publish her own book, “One Good Sort of Man”, the story of Fitzwilliam Darcy’s spiritual enlightening and how it saved him after hitting rock bottom after being rejected by the woman he loved.  In all of her occupations, what she cherished most was the interaction and bond she shared with the guests, customers, and co-workers.

Mechelle had a special personality that combined charm, grace, knowledge, wit, and, most of all, faith.  She always had an impact on those around her, whether it was her many friends, coworkers and customers or all the caregivers and medical professionals who have had the privilege of knowing her over the past 8 months of her illness. 

Mechelle always took time to appreciate all the beauty and gifts around her.  She loved to read a good book, express her thoughts and ideas in a letter, short story, or book, and watch an old movie for the umpteenth time with those who were special to her.  She could rattle off quotes, actors, books, and facts and was the best teammate to have in a game involving trivia.  She enjoyed traveling and was privileged to have visited many places in the world. While she was still in grade school, her family spent the entire summer in a motor home traveling across the United States.  Over the years she visited France, England and Thailand and also regularly visited Florida to visit family and friends.

She was very involved at Mount Hope Church in Burlington.  It was a place where she could share and deepen her faith.  She taught young girls at the church and also participated in the Refresh ministry. Perhaps the most deeply significant involvement she had were the two mission trips she went on with the church, one to St. Lucia and the other to Bali in Indonesia. The Bali trip in particular planted the seeds that recently led to the founding of a new church in Bali.  Mechelle knew God and that personal connection gave her the ability to deal with her long illness with grace, dignity, and perseverance.  She was a child of God and looked forward to the day He would call her home.

Mechelle was the beloved daughter of Mary (Cairo) and George Cote of Burlington. She was the loving sister and sister-in-law of Daniel & Tomoko Cote of Costa Mesa, CA and Robert & Rebecca Cote of Burlington. She was the adoring and fun aunt to Lalah, Luka, Samuel, Marissa, and Liana Cote.  She was the Godmother of Daniel Gallo of WA.  She was also survived and loved by many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn Street, Burlington, MA (Exit 34 off Rt. 128/95, Woburn side) on Wednesday, October 17 from 1-3 and 6-9 p.m. Funeral services will be held at Mount Hope Church, 3 McGinnis Drive, Burlington on Thursday at 10 a.m.

There are two different organizations that Mechelle’s family would like memorials in her honor to be sent. The first is The Center for Regenerative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. It was always her hope that her illness might teach the doctors more about how to treat her rare condition and maybe save the lives of others in the future. You can donate to MGH at this location:

https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/

At the top of the form, you can designate that the donation is in memory of Mechelle Rogers. In the “Additional Details” section at the bottom of the form, you can designate that the donation should go to the “Center for Regenerative Medicine.”

The second opportunity for a memoriam donation is to the church in Bali that was begun partly because of her work on the mission trip. You can donate at this location:

https://mounthope.churchcenter.com/giving

On that form, click the dropdown list and select “Mechelle Rogers Memorial Fund for Bali”.