Cornealious Rodgers

Cornealious Rodgers was born November 16, 1941 to James Rodgers and Doris Woods in Moro, Arkansas. He was the third of 5 siblings, Diane, Winston, Victoria and Carolyn. He accepted Christ at the age of 12 and attended Marvell Elementary and Marvell High School in Marvell, Arkansas. For a short while, at the age of 18 he was a pitcher in the minor leaguesfor the White Sox. After settling in Chicago, IL. he married Dinitia Rodgers on July 3, 1971 . Blessed to their union were three children- Toni, Valerie and Cornealious. Born to him also were, Tony Rodgers, Romero Rodgers and Lenora Jones.

Whether you knew him as Cornealious, Tony or Neal, He was a rare combination of someone who had a love of life and a firm understanding of what was important. His passions were fishing, westerns and animals. But his greatest passion of all was his children, grand children and great grand children. He was not only loved by his immediate family but was also embraced by a community of honorary daughters, sons and many others.

Cornealious characterized the importance of being a good son, brother, uncle, father and grand-father, having imparted wisdom on almost every occasion he had to speak. Every moment was a teachable one. He had his own special way of getting his point across. For example; if he said "The Butterflies have gone and the frost done fell", not only would you have to know what that meant but you'd also have to understand how it applied to you. It simply meant that what you've been going through has now come to an end and it's time to move forward. Another of his famous sayings was, "I'm to old of a cat to be scratched by a kitten", which means, No youngster can fool me. He had a special way with words that none of us will ever forget.

He leaves behind to cherish his memory his wife Dinitia Rodgers and their children, Toni Rodgers-Ross (John), Valerie Parker (Floyd), Cornealious Rodgers (Delorean). His grandchildren- Kiara, Jasmin, Symon, Duke, Kayla, Bria, Miya, Emontay, Nayvail, Xavier, Hailey, Jailyn, Cornealious, Nia, Layla, Antonio, Exvonte, Marcellus, Isaiah, Natalie and Ashley. Great grands- Brielle, Bysen, Brianna, Jacob, William, Cornealious, Malachi, Noah, Nolege, Avery and Kaiden.

A VERY Special Thanks to Valerie and Floyd Parker. Valerie cared for her father in her home for his final 7 years, and no words can express the joy she and her husband brought to his life.

The family would also like to extend a Special Thanks to Christal Manning, Krista Parker, Derek Dow, Sherry Ramsey and Shannon Brown