(RADIO.COM) — Joanne Rogers, the wife of the late Fred Rogers, has died. She was 92 years old.
The news was confirmed Thursday by Fred Rogers Productions and the McFeely-Rogers Foundation.
Joanne and Fred Rogers were married for 50 years before Fred died in 2003 of stomach cancer at the age of 74.
He was born and died in his native Pittsburgh, where he produced “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
Joanne carried on the Mister Rogers legacy of promoting kindness and making the world a better place for children.
"When Fred died, she wasn't going to step in to be Mister Rogers, but she was going to step in," Bill Isler, former president and CEO of Fred's company for almost three decades, told the Los Angeles Times in November 2019.
Mister Rogers' legacy returned to the screen in 2019 with "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" starring Tom Hanks. Joanne said she loved the film.
"I think Tom is a genius," she said at the time. "I want to give credit — Tom Hanks has gotten lots and lots of good press, and he deserves every bit of it."
Joanne was a key figure in the development of the film.
Also in 2019, Joanne was given the George Romero Legacy Award at Steeltown Entertainment's 2019 Elly Awards.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Fred proposed to Joanne in 1952 after a "long-distance courtship" that began at Rollins College in Florida.
Joanne was the chair emerita of Fred Rogers Productions and the honorary chair of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning & Children's Media on the Saint Vincent College campus.