A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday in Sugar Grove, Illinois, for Donna Jane Smith Cockerill.

© Courtesy Worthington Funeral Home

RUSHVILLE, IL–JULY 1, 2025–Donna Jane Smith Cockerill, the mother of Robin Glenn, passed away on June 29, 2025, at her home in Rushville, IL, surrounded by her family.

"My friends from my youth know what a unique person my mother was," Robin said in a Facebook post this week.

"My industry peers may not know that Mom helped me start the RGP (now QData) database, managing it for 15 years after she retired. She contributed in many other ways to the success of Robin Glenn Pedigrees, as well. She was tougher than boot leather, unwavering in her faith in God, and the hardest worker I have ever known," she said.

A Celebration of Life for Donna will be held at noon on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at Sugar Grove United Methodist Church, with Pastor Charla Meyers officiating. A visitation will be held at the church prior to the service from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

She was born near Apple Pie Ridge, Bluffs, IL, on July 31, 1937, to Paul B. and Evelyn Marie (Little) Smith. She was the Valedictorian of the 1955 graduating class at Bluffs High School.

Upon graduation, she left Bluffs for Champaign, IL to work in the steno pool at the University of Illinois Department of Agriculture, where she met her husband Vernon L. Cockerill, a Veterinary student from Bluffs.

They carpooled home to Bluffs on weekends. They married June 2, 1956, in Champaign at the U. of I. Chapel. Upon Vernon’s graduation, they spent a year in Springfield, IL, and then, in 1958, they purchased a veterinary practice in Rushville.

Together they built two businesses, Schuyler Animal Hospital and Schuyler Laboratories, Inc., the latter manufacturing nutritional swine products and became internationally known.

Donna managed the company and treated each of her employees like family. Donna sold the business after Vernon’s death in 1982.

Donna is survived by (4) daughters; Robin C. Glenn of El Reno, OK, Debra (Kent) Allen, Jacksonville, IL, Geri (Fred) Ringenberg of Rushville, IL, and Jill Cockerill of Piedmont, Mo.

She was grandmother to Chase (Erin) and Cole (Shianna) Glenn, Tara (Damon) Sherrod, Nathan (Sarah) Allen, Miranda (Jacob) Hoppock, Brenton (Jenna) Allen, Jordan (Christina) Ringenberg and Danielle (Jared Miller) Ringenberg.

She was great-grandmother to Arya and Cohen Gleen, Kolt and Makenzie Glenn, Benjamin and Brooke Sherrod, Cailey Allen, Jaqulyn Moreno, Savannah, Levi, Malik, Nichole and Scarlett Allen, Jeramiah, Jadean, and Jemma Hoppock, Miles and Asher Allen and Ezra Cox. She was great-great grandmother to Kaiden, Juliann and Koa Allen, and Zalyus Moreno.

Donna loved her special brother-in-law Leland Littig of Jacksonville, IL and many nieces and nephews who called her “Aunt Sug.”  She was preceded in death by her parents, (3) brothers, Donald, Leo Paul, and Robert L. Smith; (4) sisters, Janiece Weakley, Eva, Lucille, and Pauline Smith and (1) great granddaughter, Sophia Sherrod.

Donna was a lover of life. She loved her family, especially her four girls and two sons-in-law. She hosted the Annual Little Family Golf tournament starting in 1969 at her home on Parkview Road and continued for 15 years. The family reunion continues today drawing 100+ family members in Winchester, IL. Donna began riding horses and trail riding at the age of forty saying those years were the happiest of her life.

Her Uncle Clarence once said, “Donna you bounce so much on that horse we could put a fat hog between you and the saddle!”  She took the girls to the Paul Findley Trail Ride for 15 years.

She attended the August Cross Country Trail Ride in Eminence, MO for 19 years. Donna loved her friends and memories from The Rushville Saddle Club. She purchased her place in the Sugar Grove neighborhood in 2005 and spent each summer in her flower gardens, mowing and watching the horses and deer. This was certainly her “happy place.” 

She truly enjoyed being a member of the Sugar Grove United Methodist Church. Throughout her adult life Donna was involved in Rushville and Schuyler community service.

She chaired the “Hands Across Rushville” benefit for Mary Shaver, organized a “peaceful sit-in” by horseback at Weinberg King State Park when the DNR was going to close it. She put on a heck of a double wedding when Geri and Debbie both got engaged within a few months of each other.

She loved to cook for everybody…EVERYBODY.

Donna was a charter member of Schuyler Singers, a Deaconess at the First Presbyterian Church, a member of Chamber of Commerce, her Bridge Club and Lunch Bunch Ladies at the SchuyVista and enjoyed having coffee and a caramel cinnamon roll with her pals at Roger’s Bakery.

She hosted veterinarians from many countries at their home as Vernon educated them on the swine health program at the Labs.

Vernon and Donna traveled the U.S. to Pork Congresses promoting their products, networking with veterinarians and operators alike. Her basement bedrooms were open to all teenagers getting ready for dates and frequently spending nights. She often said, “I never knew who was coming up from the basement.” 

She also welcomed young adults temporarily needing a place to live.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Sugar Grove United Methodist Church or to the Rushville Saddle Club.