Emilio Rogel

Emilio Rogel Jr. was born on September 12, 1946, in Key West, Florida, and passed away on September 5, 2026, in Aiken, South Carolina, just days before his 80th birthday.

Emilio lived a remarkable life filled with adventure, creativity, hard work, and a deep love for life. He was a master diver, drawn to the water and the challenges of working beneath it. He was also a gifted welder, artist, and metalworker whose creativity could be seen in everything he made.

During the 1970s, Emilio was a pioneer in the development and use of early experimental dredging machines in Fort Pierce, Florida. His talent and skills eventually took him around the world, including work in the Middle East.

In the years that followed, Emilio moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he founded Nelson’s Bait and Tackle Shop. It was there that he made lifelong friends and became a part of a community he would always remember fondly.

Emilio was an artist at heart. He loved making knives, metal sculptures, and unique works of art. He loved to travel, experience the world, and seek out new adventures. He had a loving personality and lived life on his own terms. He especially loved women, adventure, travel, and the freedom to follow his own path.

He was truly one of a kind—a man who could never be easily forgotten. Emilio left his imprint on everyone who crossed his path.

Even in retirement, Emilio eventually felt the itch to return to work. He brought his welding skills to the space industry, working for Franklin Services at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was a fitting chapter for a man whose life had always been about exploring, building, creating, and pushing boundaries.

Emilio is survived by his brother, Art Rogel; his children, Christine, Joshua, and Jose; his grandchildren, Kevin Rogel, Krystin Charamut, Paige and Megan Jablonski, and Valerie and Joshua, Emilio Rogel and Carli, Lindsey, Julian, and Grayson Charamut; and his great-grandchildren, Frank Jr., Gabriella Charamut, and Kevin Rogel Jr.

He was preceded in death by his children, Amy, Rachel, and Mark Rogel, and his brother, Tommy Chavez.

Emilio’s stories, his creations, his adventurous spirit, and the memories he gave his family will live on long after him. He lived a life that was uniquely his own, and he will be deeply missed and forever remembered by those who had the privilege of knowing him

SHELLHOUSE - RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC