There will never be another leader like Earline Rogers, State Rep. Vernon Smith said Thursday night.

“In 100 years, we still won’t see someone like her,” said Smith, D-Gary. “She was tenacious. She gave a new definition for that word.”

Government officials, community members, friends and family gathered at West Side Leadership Academy to remember the life of the former state senator and educator.

Rogers died Sept. 5 at the age of 89, her family said.

The Gary native was a teacher for 38 years, spending the majority of her career at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School. She also served 26 years in the state Senate and eight years in the House.

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said he wants the community to understand how much Rogers did for the city and rest of Indiana.

“She was our very own,” Melton said. “I want us to truly recognize her. This is an opportunity to celebrate her and acknowledge and show the family that we truly loved Earline Rogers.”

Rogers was the first woman to serve as president of the Gary Common Council. She was also the first Black person to serve as vice chair of the Indiana State Democratic Party and as assistant minority leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Rogers also helped create Indiana’s casino gaming industry and drafted legislation that changed the state’s death penalty.

“She was dedicated,” said State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago. “Anything she put her mind to, anything she set out to do, she was dedicated.”

In addition to tributes from friends, family and colleagues, the memorial featured performances from community members, including a dance performance from the West Side Theatre Guild.

The memorial service also started and ended with a prayer and had multiple songs dedicated to Rogers.

Lisa Bennett, who performed Thursday, knew Rogers through church and said she was special in her life.

“My Sunday afternoons will never be the same,” Bennett said. “I just want to offer a word of praise and thank the Lord for graciously sharing Earline with me.”

Sharntell Smith and Tamara Taylor, two of Rogers’ nieces, said their aunt was special, and she was their favorite.

Smith said her aunt was kind, and she cared deeply for everyone in her life.

“If anybody was calling on her for anything, she was going to do whatever she could to help you through whatever it was that you’re going through,” she said.

It was an honor to be Rogers’ niece, Smith said.

Taylor could always count on Rogers for encouragement, she said, and her aunt was the matriarch of her family. The family is stronger because of Rogers, Taylor said.

Taylor is proud of the legacy her aunt left behind.

“She’s amazing,” she said. “I didn’t know that she was such a trailblazer. … It’s amazing that one person could do so much for one city.”

Gregory Holley, a Gary native, said Rogers was his mother’s best friend growing up, and he thought of her as an aunt.

Rogers was always there when Holley needed guidance, and that’s something he will always remember.

“No matter what position she had in politics, it didn’t matter,” Holley said. “She was always down to earth, joking with me.”

mwilkins@chicagotribune.com