Lawrence C. Rhoades

Lawrence C. Rhoades died at home on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at the age of 90."Larry," as he was known, was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 10, 1927 to Thomas Lawrence Rhoades and Elsie Elizabeth (Welker). He joined the war effort with his friends and entered the Navy during World War II. Like many of his peers, he entered an earlier birthdate on his enlistment form and with his father's reluctant signature, he joined the Navy. His military birthdate is listed as June 4, 1925. Larry served in the Navy for two years and qualified as a Radio Radar Gunner in the Navy Air Corp. He was a member of American Legion Post 317 in Yardley.After World War II, his father introduced him to the girl across the street, Eleanor Molloy. They married on March 31, 1951 and moved from Philadelphia to the new suburb of Levittown in 1953. There they joined the newly formed parish of Saint Michael the Archangel.He began his career in computer science working with computer pioneers J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly of the University of Pennsylvania who developed the ENIAC machine, one of the first commercial computers, along with Admiral Grace Hopper who developed the binary computer language system. Eckert and Mauchly later started the Eckert and Mauchly Computer Corporation and Larry worked with them through many of the company's incarnations and ultimately retired from UNIVAC in 1985.While working and raising his family, Larry earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Temple University's Night School in 1964. After graduating from Temple, Larry enjoyed traveling the east coast of the United States and Canada with his family. His hobbies included photography using Polaroid and 3-D cameras. After retiring, he pursued his family genealogy and found many interesting facts about the family. He also volunteered to help others through his membership in the Genealogical Society of Philadelphia.He is predeceased by his son, Charles K. Rhoades.Beloved husband of 67 years to Eleanor (Molloy), the loving father of Laura Foulds (James Foulds), Elaine Rhoades (Bill Lahtinen), Rosemarie Hoffman (Kenneth Seino), and Brian Rhoades.A devoted grandfather of Thomas Foulds., Michelle, Paul, David and Aubrey McCauley., Jeremy, Craig, Garrett, Corey, and Daniel Hoffman, and 21 great grandchildren. Preceded in death by his sister, Virginia Wilkenson, he is survived by his nephew, Jerry Wilkenson as well as a cousin, Pauline Kretzu. Family and friends are invited to call on Monday, June 18, 2018, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc. 2200 Trenton Road, Levittown. Friends may also call again on Tuesday, June 19,2018 from 9:00 am until 10:00 am at Saint Michael the Archangel Church, 66 Levittown Parkway, Levittown, where his funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:00 am, officiated by his nephew Rev. Michael Murphy. The Rite of Committal will follow at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Larry's memory may be made to Honor Flight Philadelphia, PO Box 003, Broomall, PA 19008.