Caitlin Rhoades

Caitlin Rhoades died at the age of 35 years, two days before her 36th birthday.
Caitlin is the cherished Daughter of Deborah and Timothy Rhoades, cherished Sister to Andrew Rhoades, cherished Sister-in-law to Lauren Zingre and cherished Aunt to Oscar Zingre and Charlie Zingre, as well as cherished Cousin and Niece to many.
Raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Caitlin landed her first job at the precocious age of six. The position was an unpaid internship as a puppy socializer, more specifically, a socializer of dozens of golden retriever puppies for Ann Johnson, a well-established golden retriever breeder who lived down the road from Caitlin and her family. Caitlin's parents had recently acquired a golden retriever puppy, named Hailey, from Ms. Johnson for Caitlin and her brother, Andrew. When Caitlin and Andrew visited Ms. Johnson's business to select Hailey, Ann Johnson spotted Caitlin as a talented hiring prospect for her open puppy socializer position. Caitlin had great fun in the job, which entailed sitting in the middle of dozens of puppies while they crawled all over her, licking her face and hands as she patted and talked to them. Caitlin's job description was to ensure the puppies learned to be comfortable around people. Obviously, Ms. Johnson had a keen eye for this little girl's ability to establish positive connections and bring out the best in all those she encountered.
In her high school years, Caitlin served as a Volunteer Tutor in the Princeton Young Achievers Program, providing homework assistance and academic enrichment to children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Caitlin spoke fondly of the children participating in this program and found working with the children to be especially rewarding.
While growing up, Caitlin also enjoyed watching the making of motion pictures in Princeton, where she met Ron Howard, filming A Beautiful Mind, and Walter Matthau, filming IQ. In the case of meeting Walter Matthau, he vigorously shook her hand and would not let go of her hand as he said loudly, "Little girl let go of my hand!" and then even louder, "Little Girl Let Go of My Hand!" as he continued to shake her hand. Caitlin thought it was the funniest thing. As an adult, Caitlin grew to be an avid film buff. She had eclectic interests in all types of films and enjoyed thoughtful conversations after viewing a film.
Caitlin was a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross with a Degree in English where she also hosted a Weekly Radio Show on the Campus Radio Station, an endeavor she found to be an opportunity to share her wide-ranging tastes in music with her largely student audience. Caitlin did not know until years later that her helicopter parents would livestream her radio show on Sunday night as they ate dinner at home, proudly hanging onto every word she spoke while on the air.
Recently, Caitlin had begun work in a new position leading the Recruiting and Human Resource Functions in a Financial Firm on Wall Street, building upon her over twelve years of experience in these fields. She approached this career opportunity with her characteristic enthusiasm. Caitlin described her new colleagues as highly supportive, much like a family.
Everywhere Caitlin went, whether at school or work or home, Caitlin easily made friends with her wry sense of humor and authentic listening skills, a rare talent in today's world. Caitlin was always interested in what the other person had to say.
Caitlin easily converted new acquaintances into long-term friends by placing individuals at ease and finding points in common. Often Caitlin would introduce one circle of friends to another circle of friends and then those two circles of friends would become friends as well.
Many of these friends and their families are traveling long distances this week to attend Caitlin's Funeral Mass, to be with Caitlin.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:00 am on Friday, March 1, 2024, at St. Paul's Church 216 Nassau Street, Princeton.