Mary Rhoades

1939 - 2018

Mary Rhoades

Mountain Home, Arkansas - Alzheimer's, after a five-year hard-fought battle, finally allowed Mary Corine Smith Rhoades to die peacefully in her sleep at home on September 27, 2018. Mary 's husband of 61 years, Sam Rhoades, was steadfastly at her side as her loving companion and caregiver until her final day. He championed her without fail.

Surviving Mary is her loving husband, Sam, and her three sons, Tom (and Lisa), Jackson, and Bruce (and Jen), step-grandson Jacob (and Shannon) and her favorite granddaughter Sunny. Also surviving Mary is her brother, Wayne, her nieces, Meredith, Kelly, Lynn, Suzanne, her nephews, Bert and Perry. Additionally, surviving Mary are her grandnephews, Aaron, Ethan, Jake, Braxton and Zach, and her grandnieces, Ariel, Cory, and great-grandniece Abby.

Mary leaves behind her dedicated and loving team of Alzheimer's caregivers: Amber Chorba, Tina Riley and Linda Zimmerman who helped make each day less difficult. Preceding Mary in death is her mother, Nadine, her favorite sister, Edith, her brother Willard, her niece, Nancy, and her nephews, Mark, and Paul.

Mary was born in Perry Arkansas on January 24, 1939, to Joe Smith and Nadine Jackson Smith. Raised by her mom, a public school teacher, Mary started school early and graduated from high school in Clinton, Arkansas. She married Sam Rhoades in August of 1957 and attended the University of Arkansas while working as the church secretary at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville. She added joy to everything they did and regularly stretched one dollar into five.

Thomas Franklin Rhoades (Tom) was born in December of 1959 a few months before Sam & Mary moved to Texas for Air Force Basic Training. In twenty-one months, while at the Air Force Base near Denver, Kent Jackson Rhoades (Jackson) was born. Fifteen months later, while at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida, Bruce Andrew Rhoades (Bruce) was born. Thirty-six years later, her granddaughter, Sunny Mae Rhoades (Sunny) was born in Mountain Home at Baxter Regional Medical Center. A girl, after decades with the "Rhoades Boys" offered Mary the extraordinary delights of a grandmother-granddaughter kinship.

Mary and Sam spent 61 beautiful years together; she was a dedicated and loving wife. She was a devoted and involved mom to her three sons. She was a super proud and enthusiastic grandmother (Gran) to Sunny.

Mary and Sam have been a vivid part of the Mountain Home community since 1964. While engaged in family activities, Mary loved people and was naturally skilled at creating fun. She was ready to help when needed and focused her efforts on services that strived to improve the lives of others. She was an energetic member of the United Methodist Church in Clinton and Mountain Home and served in leadership roles of UMW (United Methodist Women) locally and statewide. Mary was an early volunteer coordinator of Hospice of the Ozarks and served on the board for 30 years. She was an encouraging volunteer at Baxter Regional Medical Center, serving as president of the volunteers and as the volunteer coordinator.

Mary relished time with family and friends. She had a positive attitude and instilled that into her family. She established a healthy, stable, and loving bond with her sons & granddaughter early in their lives that continues to have enduring life-long benefits. Mary treasured time with her friends in church circle, bridge clubs, reading club, and in service organizations.

Visitation, a celebration and sharing of Mary's Memories, is Thursday, October 4, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. The Celebration of Mary's Life Memorial Service is Friday, October 5, 2018, at 11:00 a.m., with family and friends gathering early to share memories. The visitation and the service are at the First United Methodist Church, 605 West 6th Street, Mountain Home, Arkansas 72653.

Alzheimer's erased Mary's memories so please come and share your memories with others who know and love Mary.

Instead of flowers, consider charitable donations to the Mary Rhoades Matching Endowment, Baxter Regional Foundation, 624 Hospital Drive, Mountain Home, AR 72653 (870-508-1770 or foundation@baxterregional.org ). This fund continues Mary's habit of promoting volunteerism and supporting community efforts to improve the lives of others.

Arrangements are by Kirby and Family Funeral and Cremation Services - Mountain Home, Arkansas. Visit an online obituary and guestbook at www.kirbyandfamily.com.