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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
| 3 | to learn of the death of Franklin Leon "Lee" Rodgers of | ||||||
| 4 | Goreville, who passed away on February 6, 2026; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Lee Rodgers was born to Thomas Ezra "Bill" and | ||||||
| 6 | Dimple Inez (Cash) Rodgers in Marion on November 29, 1937; he | ||||||
| 7 | spent four years in Goreville before his family moved to | ||||||
| 8 | Kankakee, where he graduated from Kankakee Senior High in | ||||||
| 9 | 1955; he earned his bachelor's degree in business education | ||||||
| 10 | from Illinois State University in Normal in May 1959; he | ||||||
| 11 | married Judith Ann "Judy" Naeve on August 15, 1959; he | ||||||
| 12 | received his master's degree in school administration from | ||||||
| 13 | Illinois State University in August 1963 and an advanced | ||||||
| 14 | degree in school administration from the University of | ||||||
| 15 | Illinois in 1970; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Lee Rodgers began his career in education as a | ||||||
| 17 | teacher, a coach, and an administrator in Le Roy from 1959 to | ||||||
| 18 | 1963; he enjoyed a 31-year career as superintendent of | ||||||
| 19 | schools, serving Neponset from 1963 to 1964, Princeton from | ||||||
| 20 | 1964 to 1967, Potomac from 1967 to 1972, Delavan from 1972 to | ||||||
| 21 | 1983, and Mahomet-Seymour from 1983 to 1994; he received | ||||||
| 22 | numerous honors during his education career, but he most | ||||||
| 23 | treasured serving as president of the Illinois Association of | ||||||
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| 1 | School Administrators from 1978 to 1979; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Following his retirement in 1994, Lee Rodgers | ||||||
| 3 | worked as a financial sales advisor for Honeywell Corporation | ||||||
| 4 | for five years; he continued to serve in various interim | ||||||
| 5 | educational positions, including superintendent of the Manteno | ||||||
| 6 | Community Unit School District (CUSD) 5, director of the | ||||||
| 7 | Champaign County Special Education Cooperative, and several | ||||||
| 8 | years as financial administrator for the Illinois State Board | ||||||
| 9 | of Education Financial Oversight Committee at Cairo CUSD 1; he | ||||||
| 10 | and Judy retired to their family farm, Hallelujah Acres, in | ||||||
| 11 | 2001, and he returned to coaching in the early 2000s, serving | ||||||
| 12 | as volunteer coach of the Goreville High School freshman | ||||||
| 13 | basketball team for five years; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Lee Rodgers enjoyed spending time with his wife, | ||||||
| 15 | their children, and their grandchildren; he was an avid sports | ||||||
| 16 | fan, and his favorite teams were the St. Louis Cardinals, | ||||||
| 17 | University of Illinois Fighting Illini, and Goreville | ||||||
| 18 | Blackcats; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Lee Rodgers was preceded in death by his wife; | ||||||
| 20 | his parents; and his infant son, Timothy Lee Rodgers; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, Lee Rodgers is survived by his children, Jeffrey | ||||||
| 22 | (Ed Kruger) Rodgers, Kent (Lisa) Rodgers, Leanne (Brian) | ||||||
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| 1 | Barnhart, and Melody (Phil) Plisky; 12 grandchildren; three | ||||||
| 2 | great-grandchildren; and his dear companion, Mary Lou Gander; | ||||||
| 3 | therefore, be it | ||||||
| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 5 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 6 | Franklin Leon "Lee" Rodgers and extend our sincere condolences | ||||||
| 7 | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | ||||||
| 8 | it further | ||||||
| 9 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 10 | presented to the family of Lee Rodgers as an expression of our | ||||||
| 11 | deepest sympathy. | ||||||