Celia Bazis Rhodes

Celia, known by her nickname Ceil, was born in 1926 in Rochester, New York, the fourth of seven children born to Casimir and Michalina Bazis.  When she was twelve, the family moved to Pittsburgh, PA, where her father was the church organist at St. Casimir church.  In 1947, Ceil graduated as a registered nurse from the Sewickley Valley Hospital of Nursing, which is now part of Heritage Valley health system in Western Pennsylvania.

Celia met Jack Rhodes while in nursing school and the two married after her graduation.  Soon afterward, they started their family of three sons; Jack Jr., Kevin and Rhian.  Jack was an entrepreneur, business man and one of the pioneers of television program syndication, having worked at ITC, Warner Brothers, and Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, before starting his own company Rhodes Productions.  Jack and Ceil were an engaging and effective team as he rose up the ranks of the entertainment industry.  Throughout his successful career they lived in Orchard Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, which was an easy commute to New York City, and finally Los Angeles in 1971.

Ceil had an exciting life and was a woman of many interests, ranging from playing golf and tennis when younger, to thoroughly enjoying herself on the Palos Verdes bowling team; to always having season tickets to attend as many plays, productions and the opera as possible at Disney Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Ahmanson and Pantages theatres; and lastly her favorite activity at home was avidly watching her favorite classic old time movies, sports, and Jeopardy.

Ceil was a member of the Spinnakers Auxiliary of the San Pedro Chapter of National Assistance League, which in addition to giving her the chance to actively volunteer, also provided her with wonderful friends.  She and Jack traveled extensively all around the world before his death in 2001 and had celebrated 54 years of marriage.

She is survived by her sons, Jack Jr. (Karen) of Rancho Palos Verdes, Kevin of Whitney, Texas, and Rhian of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; grandchildren, Phillip (Allison) Rhodes of Pittsburgh, Lauren (Kenneth) Follmar of Rolling Hills Estates, Randy Rhodes, Valerie (Derrick) Karber of Mandeville, Louisiana; sister Gloria Bazis of Redondo Beach; great grandchildren, Alex, Claire, Brandon, Devon and Blake, and numerous nieces and nephews.