Kent "Haywood" Rathjen

Kent E. "Haywood" Rathjen, 58, of rural Coal Valley, passed away on Sunday, August 9, 2020 at his home of a cardiac arrest.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 13th, at the Cambridge chapel of Stackhouse-Moore Funeral & Cremation Services.  The State of Illinois guidelines for public gatherings will be observed.  Burial will be in Western Township Cemetery, Orion.  Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home with Masonic Services at 7:00 p.m.  Memorials may be made to the Kent Rathjen Memorial Fund.

Kent Edwin Rathjen was born October 1, 1961 in Geneseo, the son of Edwin H. and Diane C. Robinson Rathjen.  He was educated in Cambridge schools and graduated from Cambridge High School in 1979.  His marriage to Carol A. Parks-Cutkomp took place on February 13, 1993 in Moline.

He was employed at the Rock Island Arsenal as a fabrication welder, assembler, and foundry worker for 34 years, retiring in 2016.  His memberships included the Sherman Lodge No. 535 AF & AM, Orion, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge No 1839, Carbon Cliff.  Kent enjoyed riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and loved his family, his friends, and country living.

Those surviving are his wife, Carol, Coal Valley, a stepson, Shannon Davis, and grandchildren, Emalee (Larry) Stone and Sarah Davis, all of Moline.  Other survivors include his sister, Kelli (Greg) Whitesides, Bettendorf, and two nephews, Damon and Dylan Nimrick, Moline.  His mother, Diane Clary, his father, Edwin Rathjen, and his stepfather, George Clary, preceded him in death.