Remembering My Friends Roger Ernst & Nair Caetano

By Gary Nager

Long-time New Tampa resident and New Tampa (morning) Rotary Club member Roger Ernst and I have been friends for as long as I’ve been associated with Rotary, which is at least a dozen years or more. Roger and his ever-present witticisms and unique outlook on life were always welcome and he always told me how much he loved this publication.

Roger, who passed away less than two weeks before we went to press with this issue, was 90 years old when he passed, but you would never have guessed it, because he was so vibrant, sharp and in such great shape following his long military career that if I told you he was 75, you would definitely have believed me.

Roger was an army officer in London, Berlin and Paris. He started the first Peace Corps outpost in India, and then became a diplomat working on U.S. economic development in Taiwan, Korea, Ethiopia, and Thailand. He was a contributor to many organizations, especially the Rotary, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, the Military Officers Association and the Foreign Service Association. Roger earned his Bachelor’s degree in economics, political science and history from Williams College in Williamstown, MA. He also earned a Master’s degree from the National War College in Washington, D.C.

“Roger Ernst had a remarkable record of service to our nation as a military veteran and as a professional in our international diplomatic corps,” said William “Frank” Moore, president of the Rotary Club of New Tampa and retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General. “For many years he was one of the most active and dedicated members of the Rotary Club of New Tampa and of the worldwide Rotary community.”

Roger first joined Rotary in 1968 and served in various roles including sergeant-at-arms while logging 32 years of perfect attendance, a total of more than 2,000 meetings! He received the Membership Enhancement Award from the Rotary Club of New Tampa in 2010. Over the years, Roger donated more than $6,000 to the Rotary Foundation, supporting Rotary International’s efforts to end polio, provide clean water and sanitation and promote literacy around the world.

Connie Bladon, a fellow New Tampa Rotarian, fondly remembers that, “Roger had a strong New Tampa Rotary family and he also had a strong New Tampa YMCA family. The YMCA folks loved Roger, his upbeat nature and warm smile. They used to tease him about kissing all the ladies and socializing more than working out…however, he went to spinning class every morning and did more than most people half his age.”

Roger’s son David kept Roger’s Paul Harris Fellow medal and ribbon on his dresser with his other precious things. “Rotary was a huge part of dad’s life,” David said while accepting Roger’s sixth Paul Harris Fellow medal Nov. 17. “He loved the projects and believed in the ideals of Rotary. His 90 years was a lifelong adventure, with threads of unrelenting positivity, commitment to service above self, global living, diplomacy, and an enduring romance with his wife Jeannie,” who preceded him in passing.

Roger’s children, David and Debbe, suggest contributions in Roger’s honor to the Rotary Foundation or the Nantucket Conservation Foundation in lieu of flowers.

My thanks to David Ernst and New Tampa Rotary secretary Karen Frashier for compiling the information used in this column for me. 

I also mourn the recent passing of Nair Caetano, the wife of former Bostonian Hair Salon owner and former Tampa City Council member (and current City Council candidate) Joseph Caetano, who passed away after an illness that lasted almost a decade.

I never really got to know Nair very well, because she wasn’t very often at any of Joseph’s salons when she was alive, but I do know how much Joseph and the couple’s daughters, Jacquie and Caron, and Caron’s husband Paul, all loved her. I also know that although they’re all grief-stricken over her loss, that they also are finding some solace in the fact that her struggle to live finally ended. “She’s been ill for so long,” Joseph told me just before we went to press with this issue, “But her heart was just so strong that she somehow kept on fighting.”

Nair also was a military officer and could match Joseph in any test of wills.

My condolences to both the Ernst and Caetano families.

I also want to wish everyone a joyous holiday season and hope that when you’re out shopping for gifts, you’ll consider supporting the local businesses advertised in these pages. See you in 2015, New Tampa!