Just prior to Harry’s birth in 1912, the 1910 federal census located his parents, Roy and Lela, who already had three children, living in Marion at 1300 S. Liberty Street with her parents. The census listed her father and Roy both as self-employed merchants.
The family was not found in the 1920 census, but records indicate that Harry’s father had started working at selling insurance and since Harry was born in Perry County it is likely that the time around Harry’s birth was the one period when his parental family had to leave Marion for work. Nonetheless, Roy’s WWI draft registration located them back in Marion by 1918 and living in a home at 1009 S. Buchanan Street.
By 1922, a directory found the family had moved to 1205 S. Buchanan Street and his father was identified as working with the Illinois Mutual Union insurance company.
A 1927 directory indicated that the family had moved once again to 906 S. Virginia Street. This was confirmed in the 1930 federal census which listed the family as owning the home and valuing it at $5,000. His father, Roy 50 and mother, Lela 43 then had eight children in the home counting Harry. The children present were Charles 23, Mary 22, Opal 20, Harry 17, Lenora 14, Theodore 10, Ella Mae 9, and Willard age 4. Harry’s widowed, 80 year old grandfather Levaga M. Rodd was also present in the home. Mary Rodd was listed as an assistant at a doctor’s office, Opal Rodd was a grade school teacher and Charles Rodd was an assistant Cashier at the Marion State and Savings Bank.
Harry grew up in Marion and graduated from Marion High School in the class of 1930, the same year that every bank in the city and county would fail to open. While in high school, he worked as a janitor in his father’s insurance office in the Marion State and Savings Bank building.
After high school, during the depression in the ‘30s, he attended SIU for two years and then went to work for the Marion City Dairy as a manager. It is highly likely that hard economic times limited his ability to attend the final two years of SIU.
The 1940 census indicated that the family had moved once again to a different home by 1935 located at 1008 N. State Street which they owned and also valued at $5,000. Harry, now 27 years old, was listed as a manager at a dairy and had four additional siblings still living in the home. They were Lenora, a 24 year old public school teacher, Theodore, 20, in his third year of college listed mathematics at a college office as his occupation, Ella Mae 19 and Billy Rodd age 14, students.
Harry married Virginia Lee Deason of Herrin on October 4, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Harry Rodd served on the Marion City Council for two terms under Mayor Harry Crisp from 1939 to 1947. In his first term (1939-1943) he was Commissioner of Finance and under the second term (1943-1947) he was Commissioner of Streets and Alleys. He was elected Mayor of Marion from 1947 to 1951. While serving as Mayor, Rodd helped organize the first Marion Recreation Board. Under his administration, the city water available for use went from three hours to two days, which helped impact firefighting abilities which had always plagued the city.
After serving as Mayor, Rodd served as Williamson County Clerk for one year in 1953-54. From 1938 to 1940, Harry served as secretary treasurer of the Marion Lion’s Club.
In 1953, when the Marion Memorial Hospital was dedicated, ex-mayor Rodd and then Mayor William Shannon appointed the first hospital board of directors.
In 1954, he began working for the Mercantile Mortgage Co. since and in late 1962 and early 1963 worked as manager of the Carbondale branch while living with his wife at 617 E. Meridian in Marion.
In 1963, he helped organize and form the Community Savings and Loan of Marion under Dr. Williams and served as manager and executive vice president for over 20 years until he retired in 1982. The first office was located at 300 N. Market St in the former location of the Ingenue Shop.
In the 1960’s he was an active member of the Marion Chamber of Commerce
In 1965 he was a Marion planning commissioner with the Greater Egypt Regional Planning Commission.
He was a member and trustee of the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Marion serving as treasurer. He also belonged to the Marion Rotary Club.
Harry R. Rodd, 74, 617 E. Meridian Street, died at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday July 1, 1987 in Marion Memorial Hospital.
He was survived by his wife and two sons, Tim Rodd of Marion and Greg Rodd of Tempe, Arizona, two brothers, Bill Rodd of Anna and Ted Rodd of Riverside and four sisters, Lenora B. Rodd of Marion, Mary Baker of Marion, Mrs. John (Ella Mae) Stone of Marion and Mrs. Clifford (Opal) Owen of Marion.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Charles Rodd.
Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Wilson Funeral Home in Marion with the Rev. Wendell Keller officiating. Burial was in Rose Hill Cemetery.
Virginia (Deason) Rodd passed away on March 21, 1998 and was buried next to Harry in Rose Hill Cemetery.
(Extracted from the Marion Daily Republican obituary, July 1987; Southern Illinoisan articles from 1947 to 1972; Federal Census Records; Marion City Directories; Marion City Cemetery Records; Illinois Death Records; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 01/30/2014)