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John Rhode Obituary
09/03/1939 - 06/30/2025
John Grant Rhode, 85, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 30, 2025 surrounded by loved ones in his home in Berkeley, California.
John was born on September 3, 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Estella Hanson Rhode and Grant McKinley Rhode. He grew up in Minneapolis and graduated two years early from Edison High School. After graduation, he joined the Marines and was stationed in Monterey, California. He completed his bachelor's at the University of Minnesota. He then worked as a CPA for Price Waterhouse. John returned to U of M to complete his master's and doctorate in economics. He began his teaching career at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1975, he moved with his family to teach finance, economics and accounting at the University of California, Berkeley's business school. John loved to golf, but not in the rain, so the California weather was a big factor in his decision to leave Seattle. Later, he also was a professor at University of San Francisco and UC Davis.
In addition to teaching, John was an avid fly and deep-sea fisherman. He enjoyed billiards, sailing, squash and was a high school wrestling champion. He was a spirited supporter of his favorite teams: the Vikings, the 49ers, the Golden Gophers and the Cal Bears. John was a proud Cal parent, Grid Club member and Men's Golf Committee member. He was curious and charismatic, interested in books of many genres, classical music, politics, art and travel. He brought people from all walks of life into his orbit and on his adventures.
John was an exceptional storyteller (not above embellishment to make his tales more exciting), frequently sharing the accomplishments of his family and of course, himself. Over the span of his life he made five holes-in-one, the best being on the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon in Scotland. He was a multiple champion of the Berkeley City Club golf tournament. John was the Head Coach of the Men's Golf Team at USF and led them to win several WCC titles. In the late 80s, he was hired by Bill Walsh to teach financial planning to the San Francisco 49ers players during their dynasty, a role he relished.
His greatest success, however, was the love he shared with his family. He will be missed dearly and remembered for his hilarity, his enthusiasm, his wit and his giant heart. He is survived by his wife, Ann Bishop Rhode and their children: Jennifer Rhode and Jeffrey Rhode, Jeff's wife, Daphne Rhode, four grandchildren: Theo Chasnow, Lucy Chasnow, Miles Rhode and Oliver Rhode and his darling dog, Rosie.
A private celebration of his life is being planned by his family.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to KQED at donate.kqed.org, an organization that John admired.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for John Rhode
Sponsored by Sunset View Cemetery & Mortuary - El Cerrito.
3 Entries
Francis John Ebert, Jr.
November 17, 2025
I am saddened to discover the recent passing of Dr. John Rhode. Although I had not been in touch with him since my graduation from the USF MBA program in 1987, he, nevertheless, left a profound impression on me during my brief two-year association with him.
I had the good fortune to get to know Dr. Rhode both as my professor in two accounting classes (Finance & Cost Accounting) as well as his serving as my advisor for the two years I matriculated thru the program.
John was truly a student´s professor who not only mastered the academic aspects of the courses he taught, but he did it with a flair for excitement & enthusiasm. I remember one class session when Dr. Rhode spread out, on the floor, the pages of the Wall Street Journal open to the previous day´s stock market results. He then handed out darts and instructed us to pitch them onto the stock reports while noting the stocks where the darts landed. We were to compare that list against the S&P 500 on that day and measure which fared better at the end of the term.
I took the class during the spring semester and, again, early on, John offered a fun diversion to the course material. To any member of the class, he promised an automatic A for the course if he/she could successfully submit the correct Final Four for the NCAA Tournament some 10 weeks later. We finished the semester with a delightful day on San Francisco Bay sailing his sailboat to Angel Island for a day of festivities and fellowship.
As my advisor, Dr. Rhode, too, was an amazing mentor. In addition to guiding me thru the journey of the challenging program, he was also very helpful by providing professional/career building recommendations & advice. One life-long impression that has remained with me ever since, was his teaching us the correct way to pronounce naivete. Every time I hear that word spoken (and more-often-than-not, mispronounced) I think of Dr. Rhode. Visiting him during office hours was something with which to look forward. His beautifully appointed office was frequently attended by fellow students which often turned into a wonderful social activity.
My most memorable story describing Dr. Rhode´s influence on me evolved while taking my second class from him, Cost Accounting. I mastered the class and knew I had an A grade going into the final exam. As a side note, this was during the era long before common computerization in general and emails, specifically. If one wanted to receive final grades before reading them on a list the following semester, one could include a SASE postcard when submitting a final exam or term paper to receive the news in short order, by mail. After walking out of the final, I realized that I had completely blown the test. I was thinking I would be lucky to get a course grade of a C. My postcard request was for my final exam grade and my course grade. To my absolute amazement, the final grade was a D, but the course grade was an A-. The following term, I approached Dr. Rhode and suggested there must have been a mistake. How could I have gotten a D on the final yet an A- for the course? With a smile he let me know, "All semester, you demonstrated your breadth of the material. It was obvious to me that you simply had a bad day while taking the exam."
As stated above, Dr. Rhode was a "student´s professor." I´ve told this story countless times over the years as a means for encouraging students to get to know their professors, visit them during office hours and become engaged beyond just the classroom. Each of my two grown sons have multiple graduate degrees from prestigious universities and both could readily relate this particular experience that Dr. Rhode so impressed on me. I will always be grateful to and for him.
John Ebert
Corvallis, OR
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Sue Eileen Hayes
July 20, 2025
John and Ann were Contra Costa Ave neighbors in the 70s and early 80s until we moved to Santa Rosa. My daughters (Ana Raquel and Tita) and I enjoyed our relationship. John always kept it interesting!
Condolances to Ann, "Big Jennifer" and Jeffrey.
Sue H.
Eileen and Jeff
July 18, 2025
John was a warm and friendly neighbor. He would light up when seeing a friend on the street. He was most gracious to us when we moved to the neighborhood 15 years ago and will miss his generous spirit.
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