Martha Demarest Rodgers ’31 died July 7, 2003. She was 92.

A community leader whose commitment to service made a difference in so many lives, Rodgers dedicated her life to helping young people.

In 1956, 25 years after she graduated magna cum laude at the age of 19 from Wittenberg, Rodgers founded the university’s annual Style Show, the main fund-raising event of the Wittenberg Guild.

The Style Show, combined with the Martha Rodgers Benefactors Fund, established in her honor in 1990, have raised more than $700,000 for Wittenberg University scholarships and various campus projects, including the Ann Miller Art Gallery.

A lifelong resident of Springfield, Rodgers’ dedication to service was also evident during her student days. A member of several honor societies and a sister in Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Rodgers, who majored in music, served as concertmaster of the Wittenberg Symphony Orchestra.

She later went on to teach and supervise music in the Springfield City School District for 10 years before becoming secretary-treasurer of her late husband’s company, Rodgers Construction, which built the first open-air mall in the United States. The company also built several campus buildings including Thomas Library for which Rodgers and her husband of 55 years, the late Don C. Rodgers, provided the “Tree of Life” door.

Rodgers was also responsible for originating the Art Museum Ball, St. John’s Wine-Tasting Party and the Sky Terrace Guild at Mercy Medical Center.

In recognition of loyalty of service and dedication to the university, Wittenberg honored Rodgers in 2000 with its highest non-academic award, the Medal of Honor. She also received the prestigious Wittenberg University Alumni Association’s Class of 1914 Award for Meritorious Service in 1995.

“She was a generous, loving, personal and a real incredible human being,” said Kristy Kohl McCready, executive director of university advancement. “We’ll miss her terribly.”

Rodgers is survived by her niece and her husband, her nephew and his wife, and several grand-nieces and nephews. Her parents, husband and a sister preceded her in death.