Rodney Yurkovich

St. David - Rodney J. Yurkovich, age 65, of St. David, Illinois passed away at home, surrounded by his family, on December 27, 2015.
          Rodney was born February 21, 1950, in Canton to Joseph and Eleanor (Williams) Yurkovich.  He married Kathleen “Kathy” Burchett on March 8, 1969.
          Surviving are his wife, Kathy, of St. David; his mother, Eleanor Yurkovich of St. David; son Joseph “Jody” Yurkovich (Bobbi) of St David, son Ryan (Heidi) Yurkovich of Lewistown, daughter Tricia (Mike) Keithley of St. David; thirteen grandchildren, Paige Yurkovich, Kate Yurkovich, Vanessa Yurkovich, Logan Yurkovich, Griffin Yurkovich, Addison Yurkovich, Dalton Yurkovich, Austin Weaver, Caleb Keithley, Lily Keithley,  Anisa (Keithley) Johnson, Arisa (Keithley) Orwig, and Grace Evans; one sister, Kim (Randy) Motsinger of St. David; four nephews, Kurt Motsinger of St. David and Kyle Motsinger of New York, Shawn Yurkovich of Arcola, and Todd Yurkovich of Fiatt.  He is also survived by his best friend since childhood, Terry Davis of St. David.
         Preceding him in death were his father, Joseph P. Yurkovich and brother, Daniel V. (Becky) Yurkovich.
         Rodney retired from Caterpillar after 36 years of service and retired from Kroger after 25 years of service.
Rodney was an active member of the community his entire adult life.  He coached little league baseball in St. David for over twenty years. He was a member of the St. David Optimist Club for many years.  He served on the Village of St. David board, the St. David Elementary School board and several years and currently as a member of the District 97 Lewistown School Board.  Rodney’s special project was for special needs children.
Rodney’s greatest passion was spending time with his family.  Rodney loved to vacation in Branson, Missouri and spent many vacation trips taking his grandchildren there every year.  He loved going to the sports events and all of the grandchildren’s activities. Rodney is a life-long member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in St. David.
Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 30, 2015, at Oaks-Hines Funeral Home in Canton, where visitation will be held from 1-4 p.m.  Cremation rites will be accorded following services, with a private burial at a later date.
Memorials may be made to Illinois Cancer Care, Peoria, or to Lewistown Booster Club, Lewistown.
To view Rodney’s tribute video, or to leave online condolences, please visit www.oakshinesfuneralhome.com