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KANKAKEE – While many people could think of a thousand places they would rather be than the site where millions of gallons of wastewater are treated on a daily basis, for Art Strother it was home.
Strother spent the bulk of his life working and then directing operations at the plant.
He was never bashful nor embarrassed about the location or the place where he worked dating back to 1984.
He seemingly spent morning, noon and night at the location where Kankakee and Bradley merge at Blatt Subdivision just west of Kennedy Drive.
“There are many people who have said ‘Art must have a bed here someplace because he’s pretty much here all the time,’ ” he said during a November 2024 interview with The Journal. “When you find a job you like, you never work a day in your life. I have that job. I like what I do.”
Strother was elevated to Kankakee River Metropolitan Agency superintendent in 2016. He was in his 40th year at the site where some 11 million to 12 million gallons of wastewater are treated on a daily basis.
Strother died on March 17 following an extended illness. He was 72.
He worked at the treatment plant almost to his death, having been on duty as recently as March 11, his son, Marcus, said.
“Without question he was more than excited and pleased to work at the treatment plant until the end,” Marcus said.
Marcus said even though his dad is in Heaven, he is most likely telling others it is not nearly as satisfying as being at the Kankakee-based treatment plant.
He joked, saying “And he’s probably saying ‘the water is fine in Heaven, so there is nothing to do.’ ”
Strother loved reporting to work and making sure the plant functioned well for the region’s residential and business customers. And frankly, he said, he hated leaving the site.
He found no greater pleasure than reporting to work each and every day.
Dave Tyson, KRMA executive director, said Strother gave his life to the plant, and he wanted no fanfare nor accolades.
“He just wanted to do his job and do it well,” Tyson said. “This place was his life. His passion was: be good to the environment, be good to the river.”
Tyson said Strother loved teaching not only co-workers, but the public about the plant’s operations.
“He wanted people to learn. He was such a wealth of knowledge and he worked so hard,” Tyson said.
In fact, Strother was working at the plant on March 11 when he became ill. He went home to rest. It was his final day at the plant.
“He participated in the plant’s operation all the way to the end,” Tyson said.
Former Kankakee alderman and current Kankakee County board member Steven Hunter served many years as a Kankakee representative to the KRMA board.
He knew Strother well.
“His legacy shall remain. He was an invaluable man. I know it’s not a glamorous thing, but he lived wastewater treatment,” Hunter said. “He was just an amazing man. He taught us all a lot. His passing is a loss.”
Even at the age of 72, Strother was not ready to retire. He had planned on working to age 74, he told The Journal.
He had about two years to go.
While well past retirement age, he had not yet reached his self-imposed retirement age.
“I like what I do,” Strother said in November. “It’s very rewarding work, and it benefits the community. If I knew back then what I know now, I would have applied here right after high school.”