The snow was falling heavily on the morning of March 20th. The Great Blizzard of 1945 was in full swing. “With no car, phone, or water, mom was forced to walk the long way in freezing temperatures to the hospital to bring me [Rod Sailors] into the world.”

Growing up, Rod moved three to four times due to the fact that his parents were teachers. From day one, Rod was inspired by his father’s coaching. “As a child, I would tag along and attend all the football practices and games. My dad was my biggest inspiration and I wanted to coach football just like him.”

Graduating from the college in Wayne, Nebraska, Rod began his adult life teaching junior high English and coaching football. He coached at several different places including: Crofton and Hastings in Nebraska, Eldora, Akron, and West Dubuque Iowa, to name a few. Coaching is a strong passion of his which led him to take his teams far.

Needing to get out of coaching, Rod made the move to a little town named Lyons where he now resides with his wife Kristie. There has been many changes to the community from when Rod first moved to now. “Back then the school had thirty-five to forty kids in a class. Even the number of businesses have gone down,” he says. This all comes with living in a small town, but Sailors loves this tight knit community.

Rod now enjoys the retired life. “It has been a big adjustment for me. You lose a lot of structure during the day,” he says. He keeps busy gardening, canning food, going to the grocery store, fishing, and enjoys seeing his grandchildren. Cooking has always been a big favorite of his as well.

If you know Rod, you have had the opportunity to meet a one of a kind, funny, and above all an inspirational person. He’s always up for company and is a great advice giver. “Do the things you enjoy more, take care of your health, and help others do the right thing,” are just a few of his words of wisdom.

He adds, “The key to a happy marriage is to never go to bed if you’ve been in an argument until you resolve the problem. Don’t fight over stupid things.” Any man out there will agree with Rod that these are very good words to live by. After all, happy wife, happy life. Sometimes, you just need to live and stop taking life so seriously.

Just like everyone else, Rod likes to travel and has many hopes and dreams for himself. He says, “Before I kick the bucket I would like to take a trip to Europe and visit the World War Two battles.” This would be a fun excursion and I hope Rod’s dream gets fulfilled.

My favorite piece of advice Rod told me was to spend money on yourself before you have to share it with someone. Take a trip alone. Travel, do the things you want before settling down.