Leonard R. Rodd was born May 17, 1895, in Marion to the late G.H. Rodd and Melvina Beams. Rodd founded Rodd Realty Company and operated the business in partnership with his son, Dee L. Rodd, at 818 W. Main Street for four decades.
In his early adult life, Rodd worked in coal mines in Illinois and Oklahoma.
Leonard married Kate Lipe of Marion on September 10, 1919, in Marion.
Prior to entering the real estate business, Rodd was a merchant and founder of the Home Mercantile Company. He was active in merchandising in Southern Illinois for many years.
He was a former Scoutmaster in Cambria, where his son Dee was born in 1921.
Rodd entered the real estate business in 1943 and as President of Rodd Realty Co. had been active in real estate in the Marion area since that time in association with his son Dee L. Rodd, conducting the oldest continuous real estate business in Marion.
The Egyptian Board of Realtors, around 1972, honored Rodd, naming him an honorary permanent member of the board.
A loyal church member all his life, he worked on many committees and boards and at his death was a member of the First Church of God, Route 13 East.
Rodd, 79, well known realtor and business man, died at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 31, 1974, at his home at 504 Bainbridge Road, Marion, following a lengthy illness.
Survivors in addition to his widow include three daughters, Mrs. Chester (Geraldine) Robbins of Bettendorf, Iowa, Mrs. Robert (Barbara) Bradley of Marion, Mrs. Donald (Sidney) Minner of Poplar Bluff, Mo.; two sons, Roger Rodd of Baltimore, Md. and Dee L. Rodd of Marion; one brother, James Rodd of Denver; two sisters, Mrs. John (Edith) Steh of Herrin and Mrs. Gene (Ann) Balmer of St. Louis; and one half-sister, Mrs. Alvin (Ada) Snyder of Oklahoma City, Okla.; and 10 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by three infant sons, five sisters and two brothers.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Wilson Funeral Home, Marion, with the Rev. Henry Staggs, pastor of the First Church of God, officiating. Burial followed in Maplewood Cemetery.
(Extracted from the Marion Daily Republican, November 1, 1974)