Jody Deery, the longtime CEO of the Rockford Speedway, died Monday, June 13, 2022, at age 97. (Photo provided by Rockford Speedway)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Jody Deery, the matriarch of the Rockford Speedway family who ran the race track into her mid-90s, died on Monday at age 97.

Deery will be remembered not only for her decades of running the Speedway, but also for her commitment to helping uplift the community, said David Deery, the youngest of her eight children.

While Jody and her husband, Hugh, raised eight of their own children, she offered inspiration and guidance to hundreds more who came to Rockford from across the region and the country.

“Everybody said ‘she’s like my mother’ or ‘she’s like our own mother’ — she cared that much about people,” David Deery said. “She had a generous heart but she was a tough women when it came down to it.”

Jody grew up on a farm in southern Wisconsin and brought that hardworking, tough mentality with her in running the businesses at the speedway.

“She worked seven days a week,” David said. “That was her choice. … That was just engrained in her.”

Jody and Hugh Deery bought an interest in the Speedway in 1959 and gained sole ownership in 1967, according to Rockford Register Star archives. When Hugh died in 1984, Jody took over running the business. All of her children — Gunner, Ted, Jack, Susan, Tom, Brad, Chuck and David – had duties at the Speedway over the years. David and Susan now run the Speedway, which is celebrating its 75th season.

Jody helped the Deery name become one of the most recognizable in short-track racing. The banked oval Rockford Speedway is where many successful NASCAR racers and crew members — such as five-time champion crew chief Chad Knaus – cut their teeth.

David said his mother’s generosity stretched across the community, particularly with endowments for Saint Anthony School of Nursing — where she graduated from in 1946 — and her work with St. James Catholic Church in Rockford.

“Mrs. Deery lived a full life and was a beacon of light to everyone around her,” the Rockford Speedway wrote on Facebook. “To say she will be missed is such an understatement, but she will NEVER be forgotten for everything she has done and her generosity to all.”

Jody earned recognition in 1994 as the Auto Racing Promoter of the Year, and for years she traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, to help decide the next inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame as voting member of its committee.

For years she was one of the only women on the committee, making decisions side-by-side with racing legends like Richard Petty.

She didn’t give up working — or driving — well into her 90s. She was 94 when she passed her last driver’s exam, David said, but a year later he said he had to tell her it was time for her to stop being behind the wheel.

“She did not like it,” David said. “She was a very independent and strong women.”

She finally stepped down as CEO of the Rockford Speedway about two months before her 96th birthday.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.

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