RHODA SPARROW

SPARROW--Rhoda.

Rhoda Cornish Sparrow, 101, scientist, librarian, bridge- playing master gardener, devoted wife and loving mother passed away on February 5, 2017 at her home in Bellport, NY. A Mayflower descendant, her family settled Simsbury, Connecticut. Rhoda grew up in Old Greenwich where she enjoyed swimming in the Long Island Sound, eventually qualifying as an open water lifeguard. Rhoda attended Westhampton College in Richmond and briefly taught high school biology in Virginia. While working on her PhD. in biology at Harvard she met and married the love of her life - Arnold H. Sparrow. They moved to Long Island in 1947 to work at Brookhaven National Laboratory and were pioneers in the field of radiation botany. After her husband died in 1976, Rhoda left the lab and became a beloved librarian at the Bellport Memorial Library where she worked into her 80s. A determined advocate for the truth, her sense of humor and razor sharp wit amused her family and friends. She loved sailing on the Great South Bay and going to the beach. More than anything, she loved her family and served as a role model for her children and grandchildren. She was a strong, independent woman and lived in her home of almost 70 years until the end. This was only possible because of her special and loving friendship with Vickie Williams and Kathy Bassi. She is survived by her four sons, David, Alan, Paul and Carl and eight grandchildren, Andrew, Susan, Marta Elena, Julianna, Edmund, Michael, Helen and Clancy. Rhoda had a loving and warm relationship with her daughters-in- law: Marta, Nancy, Meris, and Carolyn. A public memorial service will be held this summer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Post Morrow Foundation: www.postmorrow.org