John Allen Rhodes - Cologne
John Allen Rhodes, 57 years old, of Cologne, passed away Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, at home following a three year battle with terminal cancer.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, Jan. 21, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Byron Fire Hall, 707 Frontage Road N.W. Military honors will be conducted at 1 p.m. by the Kasson American Legion Post #333.
John, the youngest of six children, was born July 19,1954, in Owatonna, to William L. "Les" and Vera L. (Glamm) Rhodes. He grew up in Kasson and attended Kasson/Mantorville schools. John enlisted and served in the U.S. Army from Dec. 22, 1971 to Dec. 4, 1974. After his honorable discharge he lived for a time in Montana then moved back to the Rochester area and worked for Rochester Silo.
On June 10, 1983, John and Lois M. Ronnenberg were married in Rochester. They moved to Lakeville, and eventually settled in Cologne where John worked for Anchor Block until he retired in 2010 for health reasons.
John enjoyed several years participating with his son, Mike in his scout troop meetings, camping trips and many other activities, traveling, fishing, boating, golfing and most of all deer hunting with the group. John was a proud member of the Cologne VFW, Cologne Volunteer Fire Department and the Teamsters Union. John was a supporter of many community events in the Cologne area especially Relay for Life.
John is survived by his wife Lois of 28 years; his son, Mike of New Hope; siblings, Kathy Rottink of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Janet Johnson of St Louis, Mo., Marilyn Rhodes and Fred (Wanda) Rhodes all of Rochester and Lois (Mike) Ryan of Montgomery; brothers-in-law, Paul (Patricia) Ronnenberg and Jim (Monica) Ronnenberg all of Byron and Albert Ronnenberg of Hastings; sister-in-law, Sandy Erickson of Byron; aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews of both the Rhodes and Ronnenberg families; and many, many friends. John was predeceased by his parents, grandparents, brother, Carl at birth and mother and father-law.
A gathering and sharing time was held on Jan. 7, at Johnson Funeral Home in Waconia. www.johnsonfh.com
A special thank you to Chief Joos and his staff of the Cologne Fire and Rescue Department for assisting John's extended family with a benefit fundraiser in May 2010, and a special thank you to Dr. B. and the staff of Minnesota Oncology who provided such wonderful care, concern and support to John and his family.
Blessed be John's memory.