Ad Astra - Ann Rhodes - wife of Jack Rhodes '60

Our fraternity continues to enjoy strong support among the many graduates.  We especially sustain our strength through the efforts of the many volunteers who contribute time, money, and support.  And many of those vollunteers are the unsung wives and partners of our fellow graduates.

We've lost one of those unsung wives/sweethearts of our fraternity who enthusiastically helped our graduate chapter from behind the scenes.  She's been a friend, a Fiji enthusiast, and an ever willing volunteer over the decades.  We'll miss Ann Rhodes -- a Kappa, a friend of Phi Gamma Delta, and the sweetheart of our own Jack Rhodes '60.

The following notice appears in the August 23rd Seattle Times

Ann B. RHODES

Ann passed away in the comfort of her home on August 5, 2015. She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Jack. She graduated from Everett High School class of 1957 and University of Washington in 1961 with a Bachelor’s degree in business from the Foster School of Business. Her academic success was recognized early by the University of Washington Honors Committee for excellence in scholarship in her sophomore year. Ann also was elected a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society.

Throughout her college days and beyond, Ann was a loyal and contributing member of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. While living in southern California she was awarded the Kappa Province Loyalty Award. Later the Kappa Province established the “Outstanding Service to a House Board Award” and named this recognition the Ann Loken Rhodes Award in her honor. In her soft, dedicated manner Ann has quietly enhanced the lives and careers of young women for more than 50 years.

She and Jack were a dedicated team in life and in business. They lived and worked in Washington, Virginia, New York/Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts and California. In 1981, the couple founded Rhodes and Company, a sales and marketing firm. After a successful eighteen years they sold the firm to employees and returned to their native Seattle area.

Words that have been used by friends to describe Ann are: kind, sweet, smart, loyal, determined, fighter, dedicated, honest, angelic, classy and many more.

More than anything else, Ann believed that a positive contribution was much more important than any recognition. That is how she lived her life, and that is how her legacy will live on in the lives she touched and enhanced.

A celebration of Ann’s life will be held on September 10, 2015 at the Husky Union Building (HUB) on the Seattle campus of the University of Washington from 2:30pm to 5:00pm. Directions to the HUB can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/thehub/home/directions. Visitor parking is available at the Central Plaza Parking Garage found at the intersection of 15^th Avenue NE and NE 41^st Street.

In Ann’s memory, donations may be made to two educational institutions she both served and benefitted from throughout her life: Kappa Kappa Gamma and the University of Washington. Kappa support may be directed to Kappa Kappa Gamma (Rose McGill Fund), PO Box 38, Columbus, Ohio 43216. To add to the ANN RHODES ENDOWED FUND FOR EXCELLENCE IN SALES at the UW, visit the Foster School of Business (foster.uw.edu) Giving Page or send checks payable to the UW Foundation to Foster School Advancement, Mackenzie Hall Box 353200, Seattle, WA 98195-3200.