Laurabelle Eby Roderick

Laurabelle Eby Roderick, age 96, passed away at Lake Forest Place in Lake Forest, Illinois on May 10, 2025. She was the beloved wife of the late Jack Allen Roderick, adoring mother of Tura Roderick Cottingham, and proud mother-in-law of John Charles Cottingham of Evanston, Illinois; loving grandmother to William Maxwell R. Cottingham and his wife Lisa Quinlan Cottingham of Denver, Colorado; John Clayton W. Cottingham of Providence, Rhode Island; and great-grandmother to Jane Quinlan Cottingham. She was born on November 28,1928, on the family dairy farm in Wakarusa, Indiana, the third child of the late Irvin Eby and Maude BeMiller Eby, sister of Louise Eby Cook (deceased) and brother Wendell Eby of Superior, Montana. Growing up on the farm, Laurabelle learned and developed her interest in cooking and sewing. She graduated from Wakarusa High School and proceeded on to Purdue University where she graduated in 1951 with a Bachelors of Science degree to teach Home Economics. It was in Lafayette that she me her future husband Jack, on a blind date. Lafayette was his home town, and he was studying commercial art at the Chicago Art Institute. They quickly discovered they were meant for each other and married in the spring of 1951. They moved to Lake Bluff, Illinois, and Laurabelle taught in Gurnee for two years. They moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she taught at the Ottawa High School for another two years. The final move was to Kalamazoo when Jack was hired as an advertising art director at Upjohn International. She received her Masters of Arts degree from Western Michigan University. Laurabelle was hired by the Home Economics department to teach several classes in Design and Foods for five semesters while they were searching for a full time professor. This led to a summer of classes in New York City at the Fashion Institute of Technology. To make it special, her daughter Tura, had an internship at AT&T. They were roommates in the F.I.T. dormitory. On weekends they loved going to the museums, street fairs, Greenwich Village and shopping. To add excitement to the experience, it was the summer of Son of Sam (the serial killer) and the Black Out of electric power for the entire city that lasted multiple days! Back in Kalamazoo, Laurabelle taught at the Portage Public schools. She retired in the spring of 1989, and. Jack retired in the fall of the same year. They enjoyed many years of traveling in the U.S. and abroad. Favorites included Provence, France; the Cotswolds, England; and all regions of Italy. A Memorial Service will be held at 1pm on Saturday, May 24, 2025 in the Vail Room at Lake Forest Place, 1100 Pembridge Drive, Lake Forest, Illinois. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Laurabelle’s name may be made to: First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan at https://www.umc-kzo.org/generosity/ or The Geneva Foundation of Presbyterian Homes at https://www.presbyterianliving.org/geneva-foundation/ Arrangements entrusted to Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Directors of Lake Forest at (847) 234-9649 or www.RTfunerals.com

Laurabelle Eby Roderick

November 28, 1928 - May 10, 2025