COTHERN
GIBSON CITY — Glenn V. Cothern, 82, of Plainfield, formerly of the Gibson City and Elliott area, died at 12:24 p.m. Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Joliet.
Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, July 10, at Rosenbaum Funeral Home in Gibson City. A funeral service will follow at noon at the funeral home, with burial to follow the service at Drummer Township Cemetery in Gibson City.
M r . Cothern was born Dec. 4, 1942, in Melvin, a son of Clarence and Anne Acree Cothern. He married
Joan Cook on Oct. 23, 1999, in Gibson City. She died Feb. 14, 2017.
Surviving are one daughter, Kelly Fermazin; one son, Dan (Dawn) Cothern; four grandchildren, Tristan, Austin, Jessica and Colin; and four stepdaughters, Lisa (Rusty) Wright, Pamela Fulk, Katrina (Earl) Nalley and Rhonda (Phillip) Bachman.
He was preceded in death by one sister, Jenny Sue, and one stepdaughter, Kelly Duby.
Mr. Cothern was a 1961 graduate of Gibson City High School. He then attended Northwestern University on a track and academic scholarship. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education. He was a longtime educator and coach in the Oak Park/River Forest high school system.
Mr. Cothern had a lifelong commitment to acts of service. He was an emergency medical technician for Gibson Area Ambulance Service, volunteer fireman for the Elliott Fire Protection District, past president of the Gibson City Moose Lodge, past president of the Gibson City Lions Club as well as past district governor and the recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellowship. He was also a state track official, having been inducted into the IHSA track officials’ hall of fame after having served well over 50 years, as well as the GCMS Hall of Fame.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Booster Club to be used for the track and field program.