Jody M. Deery

Jody (Josephine) Deery, the Matriarch and Chief Executive Officer of Deery Companies, including Rockford Speedway, passed away peacefully Monday at the age of 97, following a short illness.

Josephine Mable Hirsbrunner was born on a small dairy farm in Darlington, Wisconsin on November 21, 1924, to Edward and Louise (Stauffacher) Hirsbrunner. Jody demonstrated dedication and hard work at an early age; she grew up during the Great Depression, tended to chores on the farm, and cared for her younger siblings Ruth and George and older brother John. Her compassionate spirit guided her to Saint Anthony’s Nursing School in Rockford, where she graduated in 1946. In addition to her primary nursing job, she would often hitchhike with her lifetime friend, Helen Gilbert, to Freeport Hospital to help with the nursing shortage in the polio wards.

Jody married Hugh Gunner Deery in 1948. Hugh was her childhood neighbor and classmate from a one-room schoolhouse in Calamine, Wisconsin, and had just returned home from service in the US Navy. Hugh and Jody bonded over the mutual strong values with which they were raised and quickly became an unstoppable team. Hugh’s position in the insurance company and the desperate need for nurses throughout the country sent the couple on a journey to Springfield, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and then to Dixon. Each arrival to a new city coincided with the birth of a new son - four boys in total - before the young family’s final move to Rockford in 1955. The arrival in Rockford led to the creation of The Hugh Deery Insurance Agency, which all began in the basement of their home on Harvard Avenue.

Jody’s dedication, compassion, and natural desire to care for others (while also working harder than anyone) proved to be a blessing to the business. She managed all the administrative duties of the Agency while simultaneously raising four boys, working nights at various Rockford hospitals, and welcoming their one and only daughter to the family. Hugh and Jody’s spirit and work ethic began to build the foundation of their family business. Even though Hugh and Jody’s success was growing, their family was growing faster. Hugh took a part-time job as an usher and ticket-taker at the Rockford Speedway in 1957 to help feed the family…child number six was on the way!

In 1959, Hugh and Jody traded the family station wagon for an ownership share in the Rockford Speedway because of their love of the excitement and thrills of entertaining and racing. The Insurance Agency soon after moved from the family basement and the promotional Volkswagen van to an office building on North Main Street in Rockford. Jody ran the office with babies on her lap, and three more boys were added to the family over the next eight years. Hugh and Jody expanded the insurance agency and took on a bigger stake in the Rockford Speedway. They also purchased a dilapidated home on North Second Street that would serve as the hub of their family activity and a setting for many wonderful memories of her children and grandchildren until it was sold in 2021.
In 1966, Hugh and Jody made the leap to acquire full ownership of Rockford Speedway. Jody managed the businesses with her famously meticulous record-keeping and stylish attention to detail, while Hugh promoted the businesses and engaged in their community. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurial spirit of the couple flourished as the Speedway and insurance business grew. The Rockford Speedway was becoming a nationally recognized facility that facilitated the spearheading of forward-thinking racing events, fan amenities, and creative promotions. Hugh and Jody were the ultimate team: they spoke together at conventions and industry meetings, posed for a photo with the winning driver, and even swept up the bleachers in the early morning hours after the races. The couple also always found the time and opportunity to weave their altruistic values into the fabric of their business and daily life. Charitable groups, clubs, and scout troops all benefited from Speedway activities, and both Hugh and Jody joined clubs, organizations, and even local government to give back their time and talent as much as they could.

The balancing act of family, business, and charity was tough with eight kids to raise, but Jody and Hugh dedicated their life to their children. Jody was quoted in an article, saying, “Hugh and I did everything for our kids, including buying the Speedway. We knew we had to do something to keep them off the streets. Hugh and I grew up on dairy farms that were just a few miles apart. Ultimately, the speedway became our farm. It was a great place to teach our kids how to work and manage.” While Hugh was recognized as the first ever Auto Racing Promoter of the Year (ARPY) in 1976, the operation of the Rockford Speedway was always known as a family effort.

The Speedway and other businesses provided a launching pad for the kids to learn to work, set goals, achieve success, and overcome challenges. Their biggest challenge came on July 14,1984 when Hugh unexpectedly passed away. Jody told author John Close, “I had no questions about running the speedway after Hugh died, but a lot of people questioned me. A lot of people said we couldn’t have a woman in there. I sat down with the kids, and we decided that we were a family, and we were going to run the businesses together. That’s the way everything has always been for us. We do things together.”

By 1994, Jody Deery was firmly entrenched and thriving in the male-dominated national auto racing scene, as evidenced by her selection as the Auto Racing Promoter of the Year (ARPY). Under Jody’s direction, the Rockford Speedway became the model for NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks and continued its successful run of creating unique promotions and entertainment racing events like World Famous Trailer Race, Chain Racing, Outhouse Races, School Bus races, Figure 8, Boat Races, and weekly kid’s promotions including the first racetrack to build a playground. Those events, and others like them, are still today entertainment staples at local speedways across America.

Since then, all eight kids graduated from college and made their roots across the country. Susan and David continue to operate the “nationally-known, award-winning, and star-making” family businesses today. Jody’s desire to achieve led to the incubation of multiple other business ventures, including another speedway in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, Denny’s restaurants, Pack and Ships, Tanning Salons, Publishing House, aerobics studio, and Deery Properties real estate. Each venture created an opportunity for a business partner, friend, or family member to succeed.

While running the business filled her days, Jody could not stop her desire to travel the world with her friends and family. Over the past 20 years, thousands of people have toured her home to marvel over 450 Nativity displays collected from the many countries she visited. Her grandchildren will forever have fond memories of traveling with their grandmother to the country of her ancestors or sitting at her kitchen table completing crosswords, debating the issues of the day, and watching sports.

Jody also served as one of the 20 members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame selection committee and led groups and clubs that reinforced her strong Catholic faith and supported her community. The Illinois State General Assembly recognized Jody in 2016 for her long service to the community and she was also a finalist for the Rockford Register Star Excalibur Award in honor of her continued charity efforts which benefited St. James Church, the Catholic Women's League, her alma mater St. Anthony’s, as well as low-income families and at-risk foster children. Her quick wit, strong leadership, and adventurous spirit were her guiding light.

Jody always made time to listen and nurse the challenges of others. Her annual Thanksgiving Day dinner for “whoever wanted to come” fed over 100 people each year and provided a perfect place for gratitude and feeling at home. Every employee, friend, relative, child, and grandchild of Jody’s will remember her for her kindness, her empathy, and her caring soul.


Survived by her children: H. Gunner Deery II & JoAnne (Didier), Theodore Deery & Pamela (Kasnick), John “Jack” Deery & Caroline (Hardy), Thomas Deery & Jana (Rule), Susan Deery, Bradford Deery & Jeanne (Hoyer), Charles Deery & Holly (Oltz), David Deery & Stephanie (Schmidt). Grandchildren (18): H. Gunner Deery III & Toby, Ryan Deery & Lyndsay, Christopher Deery & Sara, Kathryn Deery, Alison (Deery) & Tommy Hill, Zachary Deery & Jalyn, John H. Deery & Ashley, Kelsey (Deery) & Ben Hoffman, Kyle Deery & Lauren, Kregg Deery & Lauren, Michael LeRoux, Dominique (Deery) & Brad Jones, Bridget Deery & Matt DiVerde, Hannah Grace Deery, Evie Deery, Gabriella Deery, Alexis (Deery) & Gunther Reiser, Nick Deery & Lauren Leasum. Great Grandchildren (17): Hugh, Harlequin, Elliot, Edison, Rowan, Riley Josephine, Rhett, Brooks, Cyrus, Sawyer, Maximus, Josephine, Julian, Miles, Waverly, Griffyn, and Jackson. Sister-in-law, Edith (Don) Sankey, Marlene (Heiser) Deery. Numerous nieces & nephews.

Predeceased by her husband, Hugh; sister Ruth Hirsbrunner; brothers & sisters-in-law John & Geri Hirsbrunner, George & Shirley Hirsbrunner; brothers-in-law & sisters-in-law Susan (Deery) & Philip McKimmey, Dorothy (Deery) & Robert Ward, Gertrude (Deery) & Dale Peters, John G. Deery Sr.; daughter-in-law, Margaret (Burns) Deery; great grandchildren; Alexandra & Zoey Deery.

Professional Recognitions:
RPM Race Promoters Workshops Featured Speaker, 1977 – 2017
Catholic Social Services Auxiliary, Caritas Leadership Award, 1989
American Cancer Society Margaret Sheldon Memorial Award, 1990
Auto Racing Promoter of the Year, 1994
Diocesan Council of Catholic Woman, Woman of the Year, 1994
YWCA Leader Luncheon Connie Tremulis Award, 1995
Machesney Park Rotary - Service Above Self Award, 1996
NASCAR Team Player of the Year, 1998
Don Martin Memorial Motorsports Leadership Award, 1999
Who’s Who – Female Executives, 2000
American Lung Association. Critics’ Choice Public Service Award, 2007
Rockford Register Star Excalibur Award finalist, 2012
Ethnic Heritage Museum Irish Woman of the Year, 2013
Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, “In Good Company”, 2014
Go Rockford Sports Stories with ESPN, Featured Speaker, 2018
St. Anthony School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award, May 2019
St. James Church Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019


Relatives and friends may visit at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, 1860 South Mulford Road, Rockford, IL Wednesday, June 22, from 4 p.m. - 7:07 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies and Rosary at 7:07p.m.

Funeral Mass Thursday, June 23 at 11 a.m. at Saint James Catholic Church, 428 North Second St, Rockford, IL
Visitation at the church 9:30 to 10:45 am

Celebration of Life Fellowship and remembrance at Forest Hills Lodge 1601 West Lane Road, Loves Park, IL following Mass and Last Lap Parade at Rockford Speedway.

Interment will follow Celebration of Life in Calvary Cemetery, Winnebago

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:
St. James Church and School, 428 North Second St, Rockford, IL
St. Anthony College of Nursing Legacy Scholarship Fund
Catholic Women’s League

Please visit www.fitzgeraldfh.com to express condolences and share memories.