LONG TIME FORMER CASS COUNTY COMMISSIONER DIED LAST WEEK AT THE AGE OF 96

By DEBRA HAIGHT

BCR Correspondent

NILES – Not all area residents may remember Johnie Rodebush, but he worked tirelessly for many years to better the lives of people in Southwest Michigan, including supporting area parks and senior citizen centers. Rodebush, a former longtime Cass County Commissioner, died last week at the age of 96.

A native of Arkansas, he served in World War II and came to Niles after the war. He worked as a machinist and ironworker and had his own body shop. He was first elected to the Cass County Board of Commissioners in 1968 and would serve for over 35 years.

His honors were many over the years, including the Senior Citizen of the Year Award from the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging in 2008. He volunteered at the Niles Senior Center and the Cass County Council on Aging and served on the board of directors of the Region IV Area Agency on Aging.

He helped establish the Southwest Michigan Tourist Council and was a charter member of the Southwest Michigan Regional Planning Commission as well as being a strong supporter of park and senior citizen programs. Just last year, the Cass County Parks Board established the Johnie Rodebush Humanitarian Award in his honor.

Current Cass County Commissioners Clark Cobb and Robert Ziliak served with Rodebush when the county board still had 15 members. When the number of commissioners were reduced to seven in 2012, Rodebush lost to Ziliak when their districts were merged.

Cobb, a fellow Democrat who represents the Dowagiac area, served with Rodebush from 2008 to 2012. “He was really a great guy, he had a million stories about a lot of different things,” he said Friday. “He was a character. He was real outgoing and always willing to talk and make friends. Everybody loved him, he’ll be missed.”

Political parties weren’t important to Rodebush, Cobb said. He described his late friend as “middle of the road.” “Party didn’t mean much to him, he tried to do things that made sense,” he said. “Even state senators and representatives would comment that party didn’t make any difference to him, they had a high level of respect for him.”

One of his favorite memories of Rodebush was at a Dowagiac area festival where Rodebush brought a big boiler full of sweet corn. “He brought a big boiler of corn he’d baked and people would come back four or five times during the day to get more,” he said. “I told him I didn’t know what he did to it.”

Ziliak said he and Rodebush remained friends even after he defeated Rodebush in 2012. “I always respected him and looked up to him and he respected me,” Ziliak said. “He was the neatest guy, he always had a story to tell and a joke. He was so quick witted and quite a person.”

He remembered all of Rodebush’s volunteer efforts, including establishing the Howard Township branch of the Cass District Library and working with area senior citizen groups.

He noted that Rodebush was instrumental in starting the Howard Township fire department and was also active on area park boards. Rodebush was also a past president of the Michigan Association of Counties, he said.

Howard Township Supervisor Craig Bradfield said Rodebush always did everything he could to promote the township. “There was never any doubt, anything we needed, he’d point us in the right direction and get us the help we needed,” he said. “He did whatever was best for the community.”

“I can’t say enough about him,” he added. “I never heard him say anything bad about anyone. Ever since I’ve been in politics, he’s been there. He was always ready and willing to help.”

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