Spokeswoman: blood clotting contributed to death of humorist's grandson

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) -- Blood clotting in his heart contributed to the death of the adopted grandson of famed humorist Will Rogers, a spokeswoman with the Will Rogers Memorial in Oklahoma, says.

Family members discovered Clem Adair Rogers, 61, on Saturday when they went to his home to pick him up for his son's 19th birthday party, Michelle Lefebvre-Carter, director of the memorial, said Tuesday.

Funeral arrangements are pending, Lefebvre-Carter said.

Rogers was born Shazzie Endischee, or Little Bear of the Pine Forests, on a remote Navajo reservation in northern Arizona. His teen-age parents both died of tuberculosis shortly after the birth of Rogers' sister and Rogers was sent to live at an American Indian school.

Will Rogers Jr., and his wife, Collier, saw him there and adopted him, changing the 7-year-old's name to Clem Rogers. He graduated high school in California and attended the University of Arizona.

Although a child of affluence, Rogers chose a law enforcement career, rising to the rank of detective sergeant in the Tucson Police Department. He also was a tribal lawman.

He recently donated to the Will Rogers archives invaluable original documents that he had discovered in a family storage bin, Lefebvre-Carter said.

Rogers is survived by his former wife, Rosemary Rogers, who is the mother of his two children, Elissa Landabazo, 24, and William Randolph Rogers, 19, both of Tucson.