Jeannette L. Rhodes

Beloved wife & mother, Jeannette Nutting Rhodes, age 86 of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, passed away on Saturday, August 1,2015 at 6:25pm in St. Vincent Mercy Hospital in Toledo. Her family is comforted knowing she is embraced by Jesus Christ,and reunited with her husband of 64 years!

Jeannette was born on November 16th 1928 in Willoughby Ohio, to John Morley and Eutha (Kopp) Nutting. She was preceded in death by her husband Herschel A. Rhodes, and 2 sisters, Mary Elizabeth & Dorothy Ann. She married hersweetheart Herschel on June 17, 1950 at the Windermere Methodist Church in East Cleveland, Ohio.

She is survived by 5 daughters, Cheri (Gary) Mack of Westerville, Lori (Mark) Vaas of Worthington, Patti (Don) Spiegel of Upper Sandusky, Kristi (Jeff) Shaw of Westerville, Vicki (Tom) Hill of Upper Sandusky and 1 son, Tim Rhodes of Columbus.
She also has 15 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-granddaughter.She lived a life of faith, and left a Christian legacy for her precious family to follow.

As a child, Jeannette attended Prospect Elementary School, and Shaw High School. After graduation she began attending Western Reserve University studying deaf education. After her first year, she transferred to Ohio State University, where she met and fell in love with Herschel who was attending medical school there. The program was closed for her final year,so she followed her original teacher who had transferred to Kent State where she then graduated and went on to teach hearing-impaired children. She helped start a deaf school at Betty Jane Center in Tiffin and taught there for several years.She loved teaching the children, and maintained many relationships with them through her life.

As a Christ-centered couple, they became very involved in John Stewart United Methodist Church when they first moved to Upper Sandusky. She taught Sunday School, was a member of Myrta Moody Circle, and sang in the choir whenever possible.In 1984 they were instrumental in starting Community Christian Center, where they faithfully attended ever since.They loved getting together with their closest friends for Bible study every week since 1978. Together, they volunteered on many international Christian medical missions to Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Brazil.

Jeannette & Herschel served together on the Ohio Christian Ashram board as well as the Salvation Army Board for many years. They were both awarded the Outstanding Senior Citizens of the Year award in 2007. Jeannette was active with the Wyandot County Hospital Guild, and a charter member of the Beta USANDO club since 1959. She taught swimming lessons every summer with the Red Cross and felt everyone should learn to swim. She loved music in all forms, singing
and even participating in the Fairhaven Bell choir while living in the Alcoves.

Jeannette was involved with Girl Scouts as a child, and her mother was her first Scout Leader. She stayed active with Girl Scouts through High School, and became a Troop Leader herself as an adult. She also got back into Girl Scouts with a Senior Citizen's troop.In 1976 they accepted their first foreign exchange student into their home through Youth for Understanding. Over the coming years they had many more exchange students from all over the world. They loved all of them,and visited many of them in their home countries later in life. She always loved mentoring kids and became a second mother to many of them.

Visitations will be held on Thursday August 6 from 2:00 - 4:00pm and 6:00-8:00pm at the Lucas-Batton Funeral Home in Upper Sandusky and also 1 hour before service time at the church on Friday.

Funeral services for Jeannette Nutting Rhodes will be held at 11:00am Friday August 7, 2015 at the Community Christian Center in Upper Sandusky, with the Rev. Bill Williamson officiating. Burial will follow at Old Mission Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Community Christian Center, Salvation Army, and Mission Possible, and can be
sent to Lucas-Batton, 476 S. Sandusky Ave. Upper Sandusky, Ohio, 43351.