"Elmer Owen Rodes Jr., 85, of Roanoke, Va., passed away on Saturday, February 14, 2009. A native of Harrisonburg, Va., he was born on June 17, 1923, and was the son of the late Elmer Owen Rodes Sr. and Alma Rose Kaylor Rodes. He was a graduate of Harrisonburg High School, where he was a cheerleader and a member of the Harrisonburg Boys Band. He received his Bachelors Degree in Mining Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1947, (Class of 1944), where he was a cheerleader, a member of the Corps of Cadets, the "HightyTighties" Marching Band, the VPI Cotillion Club, Pi Kappa Alpha, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Tau Beta Pi. In 1949 he became a licensed Plumbing Engineer in Virginia and had the unique distinction of holding Va. License No. 7 until his retirement after 43 years of service.
A veteran of World War II, Mr. Rodes enlisted in the United States Army in 1942, and was called to active duty from VPI in 1943. Stationed in the Pacific for 3 1/2 years, he served as 1st. Lt. Infantry, 24th Infantry Division, and later as a Captain in the Corps of Engineers, Army Reserves.
Mr. Rodes was a cofounder of the consulting engineering firms of Sowers, Knowles & Rodes in 1953, and Sowers, Rodes & Whitescarver in 1959. In 1984, he became a founding partner of WhitescarverRodes & Associates, from which he retired December 31, 1993. He was past president of the Greenvale Nursery, served as a member of the American Society of Plumbing Engineers, the National Association of Professional Engineers, past president and director of the Consulting Engineers Council of Virginia, and past director and treasurer of the American Consulting Engineers Council. He was a member of the Masonic Order, Lodge # 27 ( Harrisonburg), the American Legion Post #3, and a former member of the Rotary Club of Roanoke. A longtime member of Second Presbyterian Church, in Roanoke, he served as a deacon and past president of the John Knox Bible Class.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Betty Boone Dumas Rodes. Surviving are two daughters, Katherine Rodes Huffman and husband, Danny, of Blacksburg, and Mary Elizabeth Rodes Guerrero and husband, Mark, of Dayton, Ohio; three grandchildren, Mary Elizabeth Dobbins and husband, Todd, of Radford, Johns Matthew Rodes Huffman, of Blacksburg, and Cynthia Katherine Rodes Guerrero, of Dayton, Ohio; and agreatgrandson, Easton Jackson Dobbins, of Radford.
Funeral services will be held at Second Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, February 18, 2009, at 11 a.m. with the Dr. George C. Anderson officiating. Interment will follow at Evergreen Burial Park. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Oakey's Roanoke Chapel. Contributions may be made to Greenvale Nursery School Inc., 1970 Roanoke Blvd., Salem, Va. 24153, or Second Fund of Second Presbyterian Church, 214 Mountain Ave., SW, Roanoke, Va. 24016.
Published in the Roanoke Times from 2/16/2009 - 2/18/2009"
