Rhonda L. BYE

BYE Rhonda L. (Popejoy) Rhonda L. Bye, age 51, passed away on Monday, May 23, 2011, in Fairfax, VA, after an extended illness. She was born to William F. Bye and Velma Spencer (Ulmer) in Toledo, OH, graduating from the Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, MI, in 1978. She studied abroad at the University of Madrid in Spain before graduating with Sigma Xi, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Delta Psi, and Dean's List honors from Scripps College in Claremont, CA, in 1982 with a B.A. in Physiological Psychology, after which she served as the Recent Graduate Trustee on the Scripps Board of Directors from 1982-1984. She married in Big Sur, CA, in 1991. Rhonda was an AAU competitive swimmer starting at the age of 6, and a member of Maumee Rainbow Girls and Toledo Junior Achievement. After graduating from college, she held a series of ever more responsible computer and telecommunications team leadership positions at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA; Xerox Corporation, Computer Associates, Electronic Data Systems, the Automobile Club of Southern California, and MCI-Worldcom before retiring as a Group Manager at Verizon Business in Ashburn, VA. She was an accomplished artist, an avid photographer and scrap-booker, served on the Board of Directors of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, and volunteered at the Animal Shelter in Loudoun County, VA. She enjoyed recreational soccer, motorcycle riding, and martial arts. She drew her greatest joy from her husband, family, and many dear friends, and was warm, giving and compassionate to everyone she met. Rhonda is survived by her loving husband of nearly 20 years, Paul Popejoy; her two "boys": golden retrievers "Astro" and "Jetson"; mother, Velma Spencer (Ulmer) and step-mother, Nannie Bye; sister, Darlene (Mark) Scott and step-sister, Lieutenant Colonel (P) Mary Eberst, U.S. Army; brother, Mark (Angie) Bye; mother and father in-law, Esther and Lee Popejoy; brothers-in-law, Keith (Theresa) and David Popejoy; nieces and nephews, Mark John and Melissa Scott, Eric (Nikki), Kenneth (Beth), Rebecca Bye, Katherine, Melissa and Kevin Popejoy. Her father, William F. Bye, preceded her in death. Memorial services will be at Maumee United Methodist Church, 405 Sackett St., Maumee, OH, on Wednesday, June 1, at 11:00 a.m., where the family will receive guests one hour prior. Interment will follow at Toledo Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial contributions to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, 801 Roeder Rd., Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD. 20910 or make a memorial gift on-line at www.PHAssociation.org .