Michael Emanuel Rod

Michael "Mike" Rod was born on Sept 24, 1963, in Metairie, Louisiana. He would come home and complete our family. Unfortunately, he was born with arthrogryposis, which meant he had multiple conditions including crippled hands, feet, arms, legs, and a cleft palate. The doctor gave our mother a dire prognosis, but he evidently wasn't aware of how committed she was and how much faith our mother had. Michael was an immediate blessing to the family. Over the years, he endeared himself to family, friends and strangers alike. Michael never met anyone who couldn't become a friend.

The baby who wouldn't survive for long, happened to live to 61 years of age; living a full life on his own terms. Recently, the family was informed that Mike had suffered another bout of Covid and came home from the hospital needing oxygen. He passed away sometime on the morning of November 5, 2024. He was found by his caretaker and friend Tara Anderson, reclining in his chair with his beloved Ziva on his lap. He was a lifelong pup parent and was never without a dog.

During his early years Mike went to grammar school, and then moved on to Bonnabel HS and graduated with a GED. He would always reach further than his abilities would suggest, even enjoying organized dance with the "Bunny Adams dance school" who willingly embraced his natural talents. Later, Mike and Bunny even started a dance and tumbling class for mentally challenged youth, so they could enjoy dance as well. There was also a segment about this on the show "PM Magazine". At our sister's wedding, Mike danced every single dance from Saturday Night Fever, step for step!

Before he was well into his 20's, he had endured over 25 surgeries. He seemed to always be recovering from one or another operation; from casts, pins in his legs, braces and even breaking his jaw and having to rewire it. He suffered unimaginable pain, but Mike was always a trooper.

Mike was also interested in computers in the early days, and he dove in. This allowed him later to have a career in customer retention with Dish Network. Mike also spent years working at the family restaurant 'Short Stop PoBoys' serving food, as well as operating the cash register. Later Mike worked at "In and Out" as a clerk and helped with the bookkeeping. Mike was not afraid to strive ahead, his love of law enforcement led him to work as a dispatcher for the Mandeville, LA PD, a role in which he took extreme pride in.

Mike was anxious to get out on his own and acquire some independence. The chance came for him to move to Gatlinburg, TN and stay at our cousins' property. He never looked back, living on his own in Colorado, then on to Grant, Nebraska and finally Ogalalla, NE. Some of his family members had offered him to live with them, but he loved being on his own and he loved to experience the true changing of the seasons.

His cousin Susan and her husband cared for Mike so much that when they moved from Colorado to Nebraska, and heard of his condition, they drove back to Colorado to bring him to Nebraska. They, along with a band of wonderful friends, helped arrange housing for him. He will surely be missed by family and friends alike, and probably by people he met only once. Michael always left an impression.

Mike was preceded in death by our mother Joan Landry Rod, and our father Richard M. Rod Sr.

He is survived by his brother Rick Rod; sisters Shari Grillo and Kim Braiwick Luckadoo; Mike was also survived by many cousins and friends, especially Susan Derby-Brandsma, who was close for many years.

We wish he had lived closer, but we understood his desire for independence. We also admired many things about our brother, even in his youth. I am not sure how many, being dealt the hand he was, could have tackled life with the zest that Michael did.

Cremation has been chosen and there will be no public services at this time. Prairie Hills Funeral Home in Ogallala is assisting the family with arrangements.