Larry Rhodes

November 1929
 - 
March 2023

Tribute

Larry Dean Rhodes was born in Lincoln Nebraska on November 17, 1929, to his parents Mae Campbell Rhodes and Bill Rhodes. Larry grew up loving cars and the faster the better. At the age of 19, he lost control of a fast car whose brakes failed and collided with a tree. He was in Lincoln General Hospital in a coma for nearly a month. During this near-death experience, he gave his heart to God. He told God if he would save him, he would live for him the rest of his life. Miraculously he recovered though he would always live with the scars of the accident. At Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska where he went to school (class of 1951) was where he met Arden Zummach, his first wife. They married in 1951 in Lincoln and in the following 9 years, they had three girls (Cindy, Linda, Diana) and then a boy, Larry Dean Jr. Larry and his family moved to Texas for 4-5 years where he apprenticed with an appliance repair man. Larry learned the trade well enough that when they moved back to Lincoln, he started his own business known as The Appliance Doctor. He made a living doing this for 20 years. After 18 years of marriage, Larry and Arden divorced and went their separate ways. After a couple of years he married Yvonne Sabo, who had a daughter Valerie. Once he semi-retired he was more active than ever doing 30-plus mission trips with Maranatha Volunteers International going all over the world doing volunteer work. His specialty was as an electrician. He was actively involved in helping with building and remodeling projects at the Holbrook Indian School a K-12 SDA boarding academy located in Holbrook, AZ that serves children of the Navajo Nation. Yvonne and Larry were married for 47 years. During the last years of her life Yvonne battled Cancer with brain tumors that eventually took her life in 2019. After Yvonne passed Larry decided to journey East to meet his new-found sister. On his trip, he miraculously met Darlene Perdue through a friend of a friend. They hit it off and married in Des Moines, Iowa on November 21, 2020, on a snowy day during Covid. Darlene agreed to spend their winters in Arizona, and Larry agreed to summer in Des Moines. God gave Larry a voice to sing and a heart to praise Him. He loved to sing, from an early age, and sang at church for most of his life in choir, praise teams and solos. A few days before he passed away, he was singing with the praise team at his church. He is preceded in death by his parents, sister, brother, 1st wife, Arden, 2nd wife Yvonne, and his half-sister. He is survived by his 3rd wife Darlene, his children Cindy, Linda, Diana, and Larry, along with 8 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren, 3 nieces and 3 nephews, half-brother, Darlene’s daughter Debbie, and Darlene’s three grandchildren. He died peacefully in his own bed at home in his sleep on March 23, 2023. He is greatly missed by his family and friends, and we look forward to when we will be reunited with him when Jesus comes to take us home with Him to heaven.

Friends & Family

Darlene Rhodes

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