HARDIN – According to information posted by family members, 26 year-old Kyle Rogers (pictured right) has succumbed to his injuries a little more than two weeks after being severely burned in the blast that destroyed Hardin’s Silver Trails Distillery. Rogers was an assistant distiller in the moonshine factory and worked alongside his cousin and master distiller, 40 year-old Jay Rogers who was also critically injured in the explosion.
In a moving post on Kyle’s Caring Bridge site, his sister Allison wrote the following tribute just a few hours ago:
Goodbye My Moonshiner
“So many thoughts and feelings have been rushing through my head for the past couple of days. I woke up two days ago with a bad feeling in my stomach. I saw him on Saturday morning and I knew that Kyle decided it was time to go.
“On Saturday, the doctors told us that the bacteria had taken over his body and the medication was no longer working. At that point, we decided it would be best if we let Kyle go. We removed the ventilator on Saturday night. We knew Kyle was stubborn but we never thought he would last this long. Today, the doctors told us that they thought he would pass in a couple of hours.
“I will never be able to see Kyle get married and I’ll never be called “Aunt Allison”. One day, I will have to tell my children how awesome Uncle Kyle was. I am going to miss those late night talks and listening to Jimmy Buffett on the back patio.
“I am going to miss talking about the Cardinals or Murray State basketball. Kyle loved his job at Silver Trail Distillery. He took much pride in being a moonshiner. I am thankful that Kyle got to enjoy something that he loved so much. I am so glad that I got these past two weeks with him. I’ll never know if he heard me but I am thankful that I got to say goodbye to him.
“When things like this happen, we start to question. Why would something happen like this? What if Kyle didn’t go into work that day? All of that is normal but not healthy. God has a plan in all of this, even when we don’t understand. During this very hard time, all I can do is pray.
“Pray that Kyle goes to be with the Lord. Pray that he is greeted by loved ones. I know I will go through hard times but I know God is the only one that can take the pain away and give me peace. I pray that everyone will go to God during this difficult time. I am so thankful that I got 21 years with my brother.
Goodbye Kyle, I know you will always be with me.
She finished the loving post with the following words – “I didn’t choose the moonshine life, the moonshine life chose me.”
We will update this story as soon as more information is available and funeral arrangements are announced.