Jody Deery had two passions during her long and colorful life: auto racing and collecting Nativity scenes from all over the world.
Some pieces of the late Rockford Speedway matriarch’s vast collection of Nativity scenes will be offered for sale between 3 and 6 pm Tuesday and Wednesday at Forest Hills Lodge, 1601 West Lane Road, Loves Park.
There will be several hundred Nativity scenes and ornaments for sale ranging in price from $2 to $900.
“Because of the Speedway, my parents didn’t travel during the summer. They went in the fall. They would go overseas to Europe, Russia, China and all over,” said Deery’s daughter, Susan.
“As they traveled to different countries, they would collect souvenirs including these unique Nativity scenes. My mom would bring them back and collecting them just became a thing. The collection grew from 20 to 100 to 200 and then 300.”
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Collection grew every year
In the mid to late 1980s, Jody Deery began hosting open houses to display her vast collection.
“It went from one day to three days. A couple of times it was two weekends during the winter,” Susan Deery said. “It was just a great thing. Her whole house was filled with Nativity scenes. She would display them every year. It’s what she lived for.”
Proceeds from the sale of the Nativity sets and ornaments will go to Jody Deery’s favorite charities, including St. James Catholic Church in Rockford and the Catholic Women’s League.
“So many people walked through her house over the years and saw her Nativity scene collection,” Susan Deery said. “I think they should have the opportunity to get a little piece of the collection if that’s what they’d like.”
Jody Deery, the longtime CEO and president of the Rockford Speedway, died in June at age 97. She and her husband Hugh Deery bought an interest in the speedway in 1959 and gained sole ownership eight years later.
Deery had eight children, all of whom grew up working at the Speedway, 9572 Forest Hills Road in Loves Park.
Ken DeCoster covers business news and features. Contact him at 815-987-1391, [email protected] or @DeCosterKen.
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