Robert (Bob) Peebles Rhodes Jr, age 90, of Estill Springs, Tennessee, died suddenly of a heart attack at his home on the evening of Wednesday, October 3, 2018. He is survived by Sarra (Sally), his wife of almost 70 years, and their children Kathryn W. Rhodes and Robert P. Rhodes III.
Bob was born on 03/26/1928 in Pittsburgh, PA to Janet Trimble and Robert P. Rhodes Sr. Bob attended the Winchester Thurston School and Peabody High School in Pittsburg before starting Cornell University at the age of 16 in 1944, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering in 1949. It was at Cornell where he courted and married Sarra M. Woodcock in 1949. Bob completed his Master Degree at the University of Pittsburg while working at Mellon Institute of Research. A chance meeting with Harvey Cook brought him from Pittsburgh to Tennessee where he was hired by B. H. Goethert at Arnold Engineering and Development Center in 1956. He first lived in Manchester for 2 years and then Tullahoma from 1958-1988. Bob designed their dream home on Tims Ford in Estill Springs and lived there from 1988-2018. While working 29 years at AEDC, he was co-recipient of the General H.H. Arnold Award from the Tennessee Section of the American Rocket Society for work done in shock-induced combustion in 1961; the Wright Brothers Medal for meritorious contribution to aeronautic engineering in 1962; and the von Karman Grant taking him and his family to Brussels, Belgium in 1968/1969. In 1981 AEDC loaned his services to the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at Edwards AFB near Palmdale, CA. He was a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the author of numerous technical articles. In 1985 he started work at the University of Tennessee Space Institute as a research scientist. Bob would work for UTSI for an additional 33 years, up to and, including the day he died.
Bob’s life was more than just work. Sailing, water skiing, duck hunting, camping and spelunking in wild caves were a few of the outdoor activities that Bob enjoyed with his family and friends – Bob was jet skiing and regularly swimming on Tims Ford Reservoir as late as fall 2017. Bob was a talented woodworker and craftsman. In later years he took up cooking and was the primary chef at home for the last 5 or 6 years, growing exotic herbs and hot peppers on the deck.
Bob devoted many hours to his community. He was a charter member of the ‘new’ Community Playhouse in the mid 1950’s, and a charter member of the Tullahoma Fine Arts Center. He was currently serving as an Executive Board Member of South Jackson Civic Association and Treasurer of the Highland Ridge Property Owners Association.
A reception will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tullahoma, TN from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., followed by a brief memorial service on October 25, 2018. In lieu of flowers, a donation to South Jackson Civic Association would be appreciated.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.