Cecil Earl Rhodes

Cecil Earl Rhodes Obituary

A resident of Long Beach, California, Cecil Earl Rhodes passed away peacefully on October 15, 2019, at the age of 92, with his family by his side. Born on August 29, 1927, to Earl and Margaret Rhodes, in Charleston, Missouri, he was blessed with a long life. He was the eldest of three children, Cecil, Harold and his sister, Verla Rhodes.

From Charleston, Missouri his parents moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, his father had taken a position as a conductor with the railroad. In 1945 he graduated from Cheyenne High School and enlisted straight into the Navy. He was 17 years old and WWII had just ended. After enlisting he was sent to Naval school. He was then assigned as the Gun Fire Control man for the USS Tarawa, CV40. His job was to calculate the trajectories of the shells fired from the ship's guns. His tour of duty included various cities throughout China, Hawaii, Saipan, Guam, Japan, and the Marshall Islands. Then, he came back to the United States and traveled down the coast to Southern California. It was then he discovered Long Beach and hoped that someday he would be able to retire there.
In 1949 while on leave, he met his wife, Rosemarie Sinden, (Cindy), in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and they were married and had three children, Dustye Lynne, Cristye Lee and Rockne Earl Rhodes.

On September 1, 1949, after being honorably discharged, he enrolled at the University of Wyoming, majoring in physics. In 1953 he was offered a job in California and began his career. Work took him and his family from California to Toronto, Canada, onto, Syracuse and Brooklyn, New York. Eventually, he was offered a position at Lockheed, in Sunnyvale, California, as an electrical design engineer. It was an easy choice for him to move, because he already had family in California, his mother-in-law. He settled in Palo Alto, California.

In 1971 he and Rosemarie divorced and he married Barbara Bauer Crawford. Together they opened up a restaurant, "Cecil's" and a candy store, "Candy-licious" while he worked full time for Lockheed. They were very busy. After 31 years, he retired from Lockheed, sold his stores and moved to Long Beach.
Both he and Barbara enjoyed traveling with friends, the community social clubs, and his electric boat. He also had the pleasure of serving as the president for their Homeowner's Association for three years. Sadly, Barbara preceded him in death in 2002.
In 2009 he met Eva Watrous, fell in love and they were companions for the rest of his days.

He is survived by his daughter; Cristye Lee Rhodes Sullivan, and his son; Rockne Earl Rhodes, step-daughter; Karen Kinyoun, his grandchildren; Colleen Tanous, Christopher Tanous, Arienne Walters, Dallas Sullivan, Haleigh Lundgreen, Jadene Reynolds, Austin Sullivan, Kyle Crawford, Morghen Martin, Kelly Kinyoun, Marquelle Rhodes, and ten great-grandchildren. Preceded in death is his daughter; Dustye Lynn Rhodes Tanous, son-in-law; Mike Tanous, his grandson; Nathan Tanous, and step-son; Terry Crawford.

Characterized as: Loving, strong, a friend, thoughtful, thrifty-a paper saver, strict, tenacious, generous, intelligent, wise and a romantic. He will be missed by many.
"I did it my way… What a ride!" –Cecil E. Rhodes

Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Long Beach, California. Graveside Veterans' Memorial Service, November 1, 2019, @ 2:00.