Rhoda Slifka

On June 5th, 2024, Rhoda Slifka passed away after several years of decline.
Rhoda was born in Brooklyn in 1940 and grew up in an enclave of Ukrainian and Russian immigrants, with Yiddish as her first language. Her lifelong passions included the arts, culture, language, animals, puzzles, and Bridge.
Rhoda met her first husband, George, in 1960 while attending Brooklyn College. Rhoda and George married shortly after and moved to Tallahassee, where he pursued a Masters degree in Marine Biology at Florida State University.
The family then moved to Washington DC, where George pursued his PhD and they had their first son, Marshall, in 1967. The following year, Rhoda and George moved to San Diego, where he had accepted a job as curator of marine invertebrates at the San Diego Natural History Museum and she took a job teaching French at Coronado High School.
In 1973, Rhoda and George welcomed their second son, David. In 1977, George tragically died from a heart attack.
Several years later, Rhoda met Robert (Bob) Slifka, a commercial airline pilot, and they married in 1981. Rhoda's and Bob's new family included his grown children Howard, Gayle, and Sharon.
Over the next five years, Rhoda explored other careers, including court reporting and accounting. Then, In 1987, they moved to the San Francisco bay area where Rhoda took a position with the IRS as an auditor. Rhoda loved learning about the stories behind people's financial decisions. It was a job she truly loved, and she was very successful at it.
By 1998, Bob had retired and they returned to San Diego, with Rhoda working as a tax preparer. Rhoda retired in 2013, giving her more time to focus on social activities and pets. That same year, Rhoda and Bob moved to Florida. However, health issues and a longing for California led them to move back to San Diego four years later in 2017.
In August of 2021, Bob passed away at the age of 89. In her final years, Rhoda's attention and purpose revolved around her beloved French bulldogs, Ethan, Hanna, and Sophie.
Rhoda is survived by her sons, Marshall (Jennifer) and David, and her stepdaughters, Gayle (Amy) and Sharon (Karen).
Donations in Rhoda's memory can be made to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (https://bestfriends.org/sanctuary)