Remembering Rick Rhodes

It's been nearly a year and a half since my husband, Rick, passed away. I had always meant to write this letter (in fact, Rick would probably say, "What took you so long?") but for many reasons I never did. Now that my family is reaching some milestones--Adam is graduating from OPHS, and Allie is graduating from Pepperdine University--I knew the time to write this was now.

I would like to thank the parents and students of the OPHS theater department for their vigilance in pushing for a scholarship in Rick's name and a petition to get the theater building named after him. I know Rick would be pleased since he worked so hard in putting the department together as it now exists.

I'd like to thank Allan Hunt for keeping Rick's memory alive amongst his students. And finally I'd like to thank Tony Knight and those faculty members who contributed to placing a plaque on London's Globe Theatre, honoring Rick.

Needless to say, the void Rick left is enormous, and my family has struggled, each in his own way. As anyone who experiences a loss like this knows, we are simply taking things one day at a time. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank those people in Oak Park, some of whom I barely knew before Rick's illness, for offering their continuing support and concern.
Vivian Rhodes
Oak Park