ONARGA -- Rodney Lee Schriefer, 54, of rural Onarga, died Sunday (May 26, 2002) in rural Danforth, from injuries received in a car/train accident.

Visitation will be from 3-9 p.m. Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. Friday until the 10:30 a.m. services at Iroquois West High School, Gilman. Revs. James Small and Connie Williams Moodie will officiate.

Burial will be in Wenger Cemetery, Gilman.

Mr. Schriefer was a farmer and a Farmers Pioneer Seed sales rep for 30 years starting in 1972. He was a partner with his sister Judy in the Schriefer Insurance Agency and a partner in the B&R Coin Shop in Gilman.

He was a former member of the Ridgeland Township Board and a past member of the advisory board of the Onarga State Bank.

He was born Sept. 20, 1947, in Onarga, the son of Otto F. and Lorraine Vieregge Schriefer. His father is deceased.

He married the former Rilla J. Hanna Aug. 14, 1976 in Gilman.

Surviving are two sons, Ryan Schriefer of Champaign and Ross Schriefer at home; his mother of Gilman; one sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Gene Miller of Onarga; and many nieces and nephews.

He was educated in Onarga schools and attended many schools in the area of agronomy. He was an Iroquois West FFA alumni, state level FFA star farmer, a member of the Odd Fellow Lodge, president of the Gilman Old Boys and Girls Reunion Year 2000 and a member of the German Band.

He was a member of Zion United Church of Christ, Gilman, where he was past president of the church council.

He enjoyed antiques, coin collecting, hunting and fishing. He was also a history buff and enjoyed storytelling, songwriting and poetry. He played the guitar and trumpet and was a vocalist.


DANFORTH -- A rural Onarga couple was struck and killed by a speeding Amtrak train near Danforth, late Sunday afternoon, barely 21/2 hours after watching their youngest son graduate from Iroquois West.

The deaths of prominent area farmers and businesspersons Rodney and Rilla Schriefer stunned the communities of Iroquois West and beyond.

Graduation parties turned suddenly somber and groups of students walked the streets in tears following news of the late afternoon tragedy.

According to Kankakee County Coroner Dr. James Kelly, Rod Schriefer was eastbound on a county road just south of Danforth when he stopped at the crossing, marked only with crossbucks.

Kelly said the engineer of the southbound train said Schriefer stopped, but then pulled into the path of the train.

Schriefer was thrown from the late model SUV by the force of the impact. Kelly said Schriefer was speaking with rescue workers at the scene but died en route to Riverside Medical Center.

Rilla had to be extricated from the wreckage and was likely dead at the scene. She was pronounced dead at Riverside at 6:52 p.m.

Shriefer's nephew and farming partner Tim Miller of rural Gilman noted that Shriefer had recently planted the field directly to the southeast of the fatal crossing and speculated his uncle may have been looking toward the field to check progress.

The Shriefers' youngest son Ross, who graduated at 2:45 p.m., has been in the almost-constant company of supportive school friends since news of the tragedy broke, noted Sherman.

The senior class trip to Cedar Point, Iowa, has been canceled in the wake of the accident.

Both the visitation and funeral are slated to take place in the I-West Gymnasium.

"No matter what it was, he'd drop whatever he was doing and help someone else," nephew Terry Miller said today.

Both Terry and Tim were also farming partners with Schriefer.

"He had a deep love of the seed industry," Terry said of his uncle, a longtime Pioneer dealer. "It got him out in the country to visit with other farmers."

The last time the nephews saw their uncle Sunday was when he brought them sandwiches to the field as they worked. He and Rilla were en route to graduation.

"He just loved people," said Tim, adding "If anyone asked for something, he'd do it. He was like a dad to us. We practically lived at his house."