Dear Elder Family,

I was so saddened when I heard your Rhonda had passed away this summer. I want you to know she is so special to our family. When our oldest boy was 6 months old, we moved to Wichita and started a new life here. Although we have extremely supportive parents, none of them live here and there were times learning to be a mom was overwhelming for me. I began teaching part time at Health Strategies right when our son was going through the typical separation anxiety stage. He cried the entire hour I was away. Your Rhonda, our Rhonda, was perfectly calm. She assured me, an anxious new mom, it would get better. And it did.

Our Rhonda helped me raise our two boys. She is in so many memories from their preschool years - changing diapers and talking through colic and croup, Halloween costumes and beginning Pre-K. She was just such a constant in our lives right up until Health Strategies closed. That was 7 years of our little family's life. I am so grateful for her investment in us. 

Because Rhonda is so unassuming and good at letting others share, I was particularly touched when she would open up to me. She was so proud of her family. I would hear about Lyric and Sage's events she would go to over weekends and her visits with her Dad. I heard so much about Cody who was still at home, and different family adventures. I know you all were her heart.

When I say I will be praying for you over the next few years, I hope you will trust I mean it. I know your loss was early and significant. I will pray the God of Peace and All Comfort is very present. Thank you for sharing Rhonda with us all.

Sincerely,

Jamie and the Proffer Family

Dear Elder Family,
I was so sorry to hear of your loss.  Rhonda has been a special part of our lives for 14 years.  We met her at Health Strategies when our sons were 2 and 4 years old, and they are now 16 and 18!  When I first met her, she was quiet.  I wondered how she would do with our boys, who sometimes fought.  Well, she was fantastic!  They loved her, they were always happily busy doing something when I came to pick them up, and they were always happy to be dropped off with her the next time.  

Rhonda had a quiet, unassumng way of visiting with me and pretty soon I figured out that she had a wealth of parenting advice.  She never told me what to do, but would answer questions I had.  

In a few years, we had a daughter and Rhonda was the first person to watch her when she was only 6 weeks old.  I wouldn't have trusted anyone else.  My daughter and I still laugh that Rhonda figured out how much bouncing my daughter liked to do.  Rhonda had ordered a new bouncer for toddlers, and many times my daugher spent her entire time in it happily playing and bouncing and laughing.  It was a sign of things to come:  my daughter is a bouncy, strong gymnast who is happiest when she is moving!  

Rhonda made crafts with and for the kids, and we still have some of them.  The Chistmas stockings she crocheted go on our tree every year.  The purse she crocheted has been our daughter's "swim bag" that she carries to the pool.  It is still going strong after 4 years.  

We were all saddened to hear of Rhonda's passing, and we can only imagine the hole her passing leaves in your family.   We have been praying for your comfort  and will continue to lift your whole family up to the Lord. 

With love from the Glassburn Family

Our family is  very sorry for your loss, Jessica and family. Please know we are all thinking of you.
Velma and Michael, Whitney, David, Ben and Jace.

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Eugene "Gene" Elder

Cody Elder

Brittney Elder

Shannon Simonin

Gary Simonin

Tish Gonsalves

Adam Gonsalves

Charles Cowel

Deon Cowel

Pat Simonin

Andy Simonin

Jessica Simonin

Nathan Simonin

Lyric Gonsalves

Sage Gonsalves

Leo Alan Elder

Ruth Cowel

Robert Eugene Elder

William Robert Elder

Jody Cowel

Evelyn Miller

Preston Elder

Resthaven Mortuary & Gardens of Memory

Nicholas Green

Mark Green

Rhonda Elder

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Rhonda L. Elder

August 26, 1956 – July 17, 2018

Resthaven Mortuary & Gardens of Memory

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