Rodney Odell Thrasher

Rodney O’Dell Thrasher, 78, of Jacksonville, Florida, passed away on August 22, 2019, at St. Vincent's Hospital, Riverside. The son of Oscar and Ruth Thrasher, he grew up in Oklahoma and Colorado. He joined the US Navy in 1959 and married Linda Parnell of Jacksonville, FL in 1961. As a proud member of the military, he served four years in the US Navy and 26 years in the US Coast Guard. He was stationed in several parts of the United States, including Jacksonville, FL, Los Angeles and San Diego, CA, Cape Cod, MA and Elizabeth City, NC. He rose through the enlisted ranks and received his commission as a Chief Warrant Officer in 1980. Rodney retired from the military in 1989 and pursued his interests in computers by returning to school to earn his Associates Degree from Cape Cod Community College. Rodney and Linda retired to Jacksonville in 2003.

Rodney was a Freemason, and was raised in Marine Lodge in Falmouth, MA. He served as Master of the lodge in 1988 and as Secretary from 1993-2003. Rodney was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star of Massachusetts, serving as Worthy Patron alongside his wife for the Falmouth chapter.

Rodney was preceded in death eight days earlier by his wife Linda; and in 1977 by his daughter, Joyce. He is survived by three children, Karen Boyer and her late husband Kenneth, Cindi Hanley and her husband Brian, and James Thrasher and his wife Christina; his sister Dorothy Cooper of Pace, FL; and four grandchildren, Thomas James (TJ) Thrasher, Nora Hanley, Kaleb Thrasher, and Jaxxon Thrasher.

Visitation will be held for Rodney and Linda on September 8, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00pm at Nickerson-Bourne Funeral Home, 40 MacArthur Blvd, Bourne, MA. A memorial service will be held for the couple on September 9, 2019 at noon, also at Nickerson-Bourne Funeral Home. A private service will be held graveside at the Massachusetts National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in Rodney’s memory to be made to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida at www.communityhospice.com/give or the Masonic Angel Foundation at http://www.masonicangelfund.org/donate.htm .

HARDAGE-GIDDENS RIVERSIDE MEMORIAL PARK AND FUNERAL HOME, 7242 Normandy Boulevard, is serving the family in Jacksonville, FL. NICKERSON-BOURNE FUNERAL HOME, 40 MacArthur Boulevard, Bourne, MA is serving the family in Massachusetts.