Richard "Dick" Rhoda

Dick, a resident of Timonium for 53 years, passed away at Stella Maris Long Term Care in Timonium on June 12, 2023.

Dick was born and raised in Shillington, PA, a town of 4,000, by his father and mother, William "Wit" Rhoda and Kathryn Rhoda.  Born in 1930, Dick had a "Huck Finn" childhood.  Hunting with his father and trapping muskrats before school and selling them for 10 cents each.

While attending Shillington High School, Dick played 4 varsity sports:  football, basketball, swimming and track.  Fellow student, John Updike, would stop by his family home with his father to help count the concession stand proceeds after games.  Also, while in high school, he was a civil defense courier for the town during World War II.

After attending Albright College, Dick enrolled at Philadelphia Pharmaceutical (now Philadelphia College of the Sciences) where he received his degree in pharmacy and was licensed in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland.  He was the starting point guard on the basketball team.  He loved telling stories of the weekend road trips to New York City.  Stretching what little money they had in NYC nightclubs, they saw the likes of Perry Como perform.

Dick worked summers at Camp Karamac in the Poconos.  Known as a singles resort, it was here that he met his wife of 69 years, Irene McLaughlin of Philadelphia.  They were married August 8, 1953 and Dick was immediately drafted into the Army just a few months after the Korean War armistice was signed.  He was stationed at Ft. Knox where they lived in Vine Grove, KY in a house paying $40 per month for rent and with their first two children arriving, Richard (1954) and Jeffrey (1955).

Upon his discharge, the family move to Norfolk, VA where Dick ran the local People's Drug Store (later acquired by CVS) in rural Great Bridge.  He was a member of the Kiwanis Club and coached youth football and baseball.   Their daughter, Sharon, arrived in 1958.   Weekends were highlighted by spending days at Virginia Beach.

After joining Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals in 1965, the family moved to Timonium as Dick took over as Eli Lilly's relationship with the top hospitals in Baltimore in 1970. These were junior high and high school days for their children with summers vacations in Ocean City.  Youth activities and sports dominated family life. Dick and Irene were tremendous University of Maryland fans sending all three children to the university.  They were members of the Terrapin Club for decades and never missed a tailgate or game in many sports.

After retiring in 1995, Dick and Irene wintered in Key Colony Beach in the Florida Keys where fishing and tennis took over as well as welcoming family and friends.  Visiting grandchildren was the highlight. Dick ran the Key Colony Beach Day parade and was the president of their condo association managing reconstruction during several hurricanes.

Baltimore was home.  They enjoyed many trips downtown even before the Inner Harbor opened.  They were regulars at Tio Pepe's and Velleggia's and Liberatori's in Timonium.  Dick enjoyed tennis, playing competitively until he was 88 years old.  He was a member of the Towson Racket Club as well as Hillendale Country Club.

Dick and Irene rarely missed a happy hour at the end of the day and a daily cigar was always an event. His kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren made him the happiest, but his life-long love of Irene always shown through.  Friends called them the Norman Rockwells for their traditional family values and  decades long love affair.

When being interviewed by the nurse at Brightview Senior Living, she asked him if he had many friends.  Dick replied, "everybody loves me".  A character to the end, yet truer words were never spoken.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Irene, their son Rich and his wife Nicki; their son Jeff and his wife Joanna; their daughter Sharon and her husband Eric, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.