Judith Elenore Rhodes

Judy Rhodes, 78, of Arvada, Colorado and long a resident of Coralville and Iowa City, Iowa, died at her home on May 16, 2021 following a rapid onset of kidney and brain cancer. Born Judith Elenore McReynolds on October 9, 1942, in Elmhurst, Illinois, daughter of William Dixon McReynolds and Irene Edith (Erickson) McReynolds, Judy grew up in the Mount Prospect and Lake Zurich areas northwest of Chicago and graduated from Ela-Vernon High School in 1960 as valedictorian. She graduated from Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota in 1964 and taught high-school English and drama in rural Pepin County and Ellsworth, Wisconsin, until she married fellow Carleton graduate Stephen Rhodes on June 10, 1966, in Northfield. Judy undertook graduate study in English at the University of Iowa, concentrating on the poetry of William Blake. She also taught English and drama at Mid-Prairie High School in Wellman, Iowa. As she and Steve raised their family, she was a day-care provider and then a preschool teacher in their home, and later became a real-estate agent in the Iowa City area. Judy was committed to education as her children progressed through the Iowa City School District, working on school-board issues and neighborhood school projects, volunteering her talents and infectious energy. All her life she felt close to trees, plants, and animals, always finding time to be in touch with nature, and she loved working in her gardens. Most of all, Judy appreciated and loved children and dedicated herself to nurturing and enhancing their lives wherever she encountered them. Of all her interests, family was the most important to Judy. She is survived by her husband Steve and her children, Ruth Rhodes of Arvada, Martha Rhodes (David French) of Cedar Rapids, Michael Rhodes (Wei-Chien Tu) of London, England, and John Rhodes of Arvada, by her grandchildren Zachary and Leah Rhodes of Iowa City and Katherine Rhodes of Arvada, and by her brother William McReynolds of McHenry, Illinois. She was preceded in death by her parents, by her stepmother Bobbie Forman McReynolds, and by her sister Virginia McReynolds. A public service is not planned. Judy's ashes will be released to the winds near Crestone, Colorado, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The family asks that her many friends remember her positive and caring spirit as they face choices in their own lives ahead.