Velma was a daughter of William T. and Mary Frances (Fisk) Rogers. She grew up in Regina, Sask., Canada, as part of a large family. In 1927 Vancouver Velma won a contest sponsored by the Canadian Legion , and the local press called her "Queen Velma." She was to be given an Auburn coupe automobile and she would represent Vancouver in a "free trip" to the Inter-City Beauty Contest (the Miss America pageant), scheduled for September in Atlantic City, N. J. She became involved in a few law suits over the contest (one of which she initiated to maintain her free trip, suing for $1500 to cover the costs of evening gowns, sport and afternoon dresses, bathing suits etc.). The court ordered the car sold to pay her attorney's costs, and she missed out on the trip to Atlantic City. She later married on June 15, 1928, at Nelson, British Columbia, to Gordon William Dalgleish (1902-1980). He was a theater manager and projectionist at Nelson, B.C. In 1934 she was the head of a hosiery department at Rae's Clever Shoe Store on Granville Street. That marriage ended in divorce, perhaps in 1935. In September of 1938 she was reported by the Regina "Post-Leader" with her maiden name of Velma Rogers as a resident of Los Angeles. She later married Christopher A. Beute (1893-1955). He was a Hollywood producer/director, who in 1944 was Vice President of Boots and Saddles Pictures, Inc.
It was perhaps in 1954 that Velma traveled to Belgium to place lilac flowers on her older brother Frank's grave near Ypres, Flanders. He had been killed in WWI. She and her husband Chrisopher Beute returned on the steamer "Queen Elizabeth" from Southampton, arriving June 1, 1954, at New York. At that time they lived at 3376 Barham Blvd., Hollywood, CA. He died in February, 1955.
According to a Rogers nephew in Arizona, "Velma... was an eccentric woman. She worked for Howard Hughes as a personal secretary, a secretary for John Wayne, and earlier married an MGM producer. They were caught up in the McCarthy commie stuff..."
Her obituary in the Palm Springs' "Desert Sun," provides partly confirming information for this. Appearing on Oct. 15th and 18th, 1996, it states in part, "Mrs. Beute was an accountant for many years. During World War II she worked for Hughes Aircraft... She worked for many years for celebrities, including John Wayne and Debbie Reynolds. She also worked for Sam Goldwyn Productions and was employed locally by the Spa Hotel and for many years in the real estate business. She was a member of the Palm Springs Community Church..." She was survived by her sister Lea Palmer of Victoria, B. C. [A head-shot photo of Velma in her later years accompanies the obituary.]
She lived in Las Vegas for a short time, as she was listed living there in 1993, but was back in Palm Springs by 1996.