Obituary of William L. Rodee

William L. Rodee – Canton, NY

          Heaven gained a faithful servant with the passing of William L. Rodee, Canton, NY on    February 8, 2023 .  Mr. Rodee was born September 27, 1934 to Bernard L. & Etta (Aldous) Rodee.  The youngest of ten children, Mr. Rodee was the 6^th generation to take over & run the family farm. In addition to his dedicated wife, Marilyn, his pride & joy was his family. His children & their spouses Leslee (Steve) Hooper, Terri Rodee (Doug Knuth), & Elliott (Mary) Rodee. His grandchildren Brandon (Shelby) Rodee, Sean (Taylor) Rodee, Liam Rodee, Julia Basford, Casey Basford, Amelia Rodee, Sarah Rodee, Chris (Courtney) Hooper, Garth (Mary) Hooper, & David (Adrianna) Hooper as well as great grandchildren (Charleigh, Brynlee, Duke, Alivia, Ellie, Callie, Grayson, Quinn, & Adler), & his siblings, numerous nieces & nephews (great nieces & nephews) & cousins (& their families).

            Fostering his love of farming, Bill exhibited Holsteins at St. Lawrence County & NY State fairs.  For St. Lawrence County, he was the 4-H summer assistant, a 4-H livestock judging trainer. In addition he was the Agriculture Superintendent for the county fair & President of the county Holstein Club.  In 1952 he graduated from Canton High School.  He then studied at Cornell University pursuing a BS in Agriculture with graduation in 1957.  While at Cornell, he was a member of the Cornell Dairy Judging Team and the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity.  Lifelong friendships resulted with AGR members. He also was in ROTC while in college.

            In 1960 he married the love of his life, Marilyn (Elliott), whom he met at St. Lawrence County fair.  Together they shared 62 years of marriage.  They settled on the family farm in Canton where Mr. Rodee was active in many farm & non-farm organizations.  He was president of the St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau, followed by District Representative on the NY State Farm Bureau.  He served as Chairman of the Finance Committee on NYS Agriculture Society & its president.  He sat on the board of directors for the First National Bank.  Mr. Rodee was one of the first members on the St. Lawrence County Planning board. He also served as President of the Black River-St. Lawrence District Planning board & was the agricultural representative on CETA (Comprehensive Employment & Training Act). He trained CETA students interested in agriculture on the farm.  Growing up he was a member of the Brick Chapel church, a small church within walking distance of the family farm. Upon marriage he joined the First Presbyterian Church (Church on the Park) in Canton where he served as a deacon.

            Mr. Rodee is survived by his loving wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces & nephews, great nieces & nephews, cousins, & siblings Janet (Rodee) Cook, & Bernard (Helen) Rodee.  He is predeceased by his parents, in-laws Harold & Rhoda Elliott, siblings (& spouses) Jessie (Rodee) & Jerome Manitta, Barbara (Rodee) & Peter Laspina, Twins Thelma & Melba Rodee, Marie (Rodee) & John Zeh, Elaine (Rodee) & Robert Nelson, Phyllis (Rodee) & Peter Varco, brother-in-law Clark Cook, brothers-in-law & sisters-in-law Sally (Elliott) & Harry Payne and Baker & Dorothy (Flynn) Elliott, grandson Riley Basford, three nephews & a great nephew.

            A celebration of the life will be held in the spring.     At that time, interment will take place at Brick Chapel Cemetery.

            Donations may be made to Brick Chapel Cemetary, c/o Jack Zeh 220 Hill Rd, Hermon, NY 13652, First Presbyterian Church, c/o Rev Mike Catanzaro  17 Park St, Canton, NY 13617, Riley Basford Legacy Fund, c/o NNYCF, 131 Washington St, Watertown, NY, or Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley, 6805 US-11, Potsdam, NY.