Gary Eugene Rhodes

The oldest son of Keith E. Rhodes and his wife Billie (Mauldin) Rhodes, Gary was born February 14, 1947, on the naval base in Astoria, Oregon, where his father was then serving during his twenty-year career in the U.S. Navy. Gary and his two younger siblings grew up on naval bases in Virginia, Louisiana and Southern California. After graduating from high school, Gary studied at the University of Missouri but left in 1968 to enlist in the U. S. Navy, where he served six years — including three years aboard the USS Lapon, a nuclear-powered submarine. After leaving the service, Gary moved to the San Francisco Bay area and worked many years as an electronic technician for AT&T. On retirement, he moved first to the Saint Louis, Missouri area, and then to New Hampshire in 2008.

An independent and private man, Gary was a self-described curmudgeon with a dry, clever sense of humor that masked a deeply loyal and generous heart. A fitness enthusiast and weightlifter, a reader, movie buff and word-game adept, he was also passionate and knowledgeable about photography and American art pottery. He was pre-deceased by his parents and by a partner, Anthony Morici. Gary is survived by a sister, Sheila Hill, and brother-in-law, Terry, of Elsberry, Missouri; a brother, Mark Rhodes and sister-in-law, Elsie, of Fenton, Missouri; a niece, Emily Falkenrath and nephew-in-law Kyle, of Ave Maria, Florida; two nephews, Eliot Starr of St. Charles, Missouri and Sean Rhodes of Fenton, Missouri; and by his partner, Jim Skofield, of Walpole, New Hampshire.

Burial will be held privately by the family.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for any donations made in Gary’s memory to be sent to the Walpole Town Library, 48 Main Street, PO Box 487, Walpole, NH 03608; or to Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services, PO Box 564, Keene, NH 03431.