RIP Rob, always a valued, helpful, and insightful colleague for many years at Merck.   All  best wishes to his family.

Kindly, 
Jim Ricciuti

Am stunned to hear of Rob's passing, though it is uplifting to read the wonderful notes from people who knew and loved him. Rob was my mentor many years ago and I always looked forward to our conversations. He was wise with a down-to-earth demeanor. He was always accessible, generous with his time, and glad to help however possible. Most of all, Rob was always good for a laugh. Super quick wit and an exceptionally nice guy. I will miss Rob and am thankful to have had the opportunity to know him.

Our love and thoughts are with you all at this sad sad time.  
The Wise Family xx xx

Rob was a colleague and friend for many years. His intellect, wit and business savvy were only matched by his heart, humor and humility.  I pray memories bring you comfort and peace during this difficult time. My condolences.

I am saddened to hear of Rob's passing.  I recall his soft and steady voice and his dry wit.

Prayers for his family and extended circle of friends...may these prayers bring comfort in this time of mourning.

I had to good fortune of meeting and working with Rob early on in our careers and our paths crossed many times.   Rob had a way of bringing a smile to my face just by staring at me.  His approach was unique and successful.  He cared deeply about his family, friends and colleagues. I will miss him and our talks.  Rest in peace my friend.

Merck was lucky to have had Rob.  Rob’s ability to quietly, selectively lead and provide strategic focus contributed to the success of many Merck products.  I was fortunate to have worked with him at Merck, and to have briefly reconnected with him when he joined Apnimed.  

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.  Rest in peace.

Rob and I worked together for several years.  He was very smart, very thoughtful and very caring.  He was a good man and I will miss his smile, humour and compassion.  Peace my friend, Deepak

To the Rode family, 

Like many others I was stunned to hear the sad news of Rob's passing.  I was fortunate to have had the chance tower with Rob on a number of different projects and disease catered when we both worked at Merck.   He was a tremendous leader and a straight shooter.  I would myself as truly fortunate to have walked a little of life's road with him.  

May he rest in peace and may you all be comforted 

Skip Irvine

I worked closely with Rob while he was the Chief Commercial Officer at Apnimed.  Always thoughtful, sometimes blunt, and a true professional in every sense of the word.  He knew what we had to do and guided us along.  Apnimed is in a much better position based on his work.  I valued our frequent conversations and a now know a little about commercialization; I always enjoyed our conversations, and his absence leaves a void for me.
Larry Miller
CEO, Apnimed

Rob was a kind and nice fellow.  I always appreciated his humor and will always remember his friendship.  He will not be forgotten.

Rob was a good man.  Unabashedly real, understated, insightful, trustworthy and smart.  He led teams with a steady hand, at times through some difficult circumstances, and never let ego get in the way.  Those of us who had the opportunity to work closely with Rob, over many years at Merck, were the lucky ones.  My condolences to the entire Rode family and all who were close to Rob.

Cousins….. Thank you Lisa, Judy, Mike and Rob for being a part of each others lives. Our group is getting smaller as we move on through our life’s journey. 
To all my cousins, I still stand by what I told Rob several times “it doesn’t matter what you do or have done I will still love you and I am here for you, I got your back. 
Rest in peace Rob, rest in peace. 
Mike

A wonderful night out during a visit to Atlanta. With Milo and JoAnn George, a second mom and dad to Rob, Ethan and Kelsey and my sister Judy.

A photo taken April 8, 2023 at Ethan and Kelsey’s Wedding. Rob’s mom Jean, Rob and then his boys Ethan, Caleb and Jonathan.

The last few years Rob has taken me on adventures that I would never had done without him setting up the activities. Rob’s list of ideas for future adventures was all over the place. Rob always said “ it is easier to tell you places where he has not been then to tell you all the places he has been “. Rob loved fishing, and it actually rubbed off on me a little. Rob told me “he caught me smiling a couple of times as I was reeling in the few fish I caught”. Rob was truly at peace when he was fishing.

My cousin Rob has been a big part of my life. We did many things growing up together from teaching him how to throw a baseball to teaching him how to drive a car out in one of our fields on the farm. I still remember when I was a senior in high school and Rob was a freshman. He decided to stack my locker, which all his friends thought he was crazy… but he knew I had his back. 

The photo shows two of my best friends: both are my cousins: David Jones (on the left) was a Senior at a neighboring rival school and Rob who was a freshman at Pandora-Gilboa high school, in Northwestern Ohio, with me.  My time with both of them has been cut short. David would be killed in a car accident just two years after this picture was taken while he was attending Taylor University. 
David’s death meant it was down to just Rob and I.

I met Rob as a young analyst in the South East Region. He was smart, outspoken and very mature. It was a joy to watch him succeed at Merck and have an impact. 

Monica Chaudhari 
(Merck colleague since 1995)

Dawn, Ethan, Jonathan and Caleb,

Our thoughts and prayers are and will be with all of you.  Rob has held a special place in our hearts and memories over the course of the last few decades. 

With our heartfelt sympathy,
Smithey and Ken

Thinking about Ethan and the Rode family! I coached Ethan in baseball in Pennsylvania and got to know and enjoy my time with Rob and the Rode family.  Sending deepest condolences.  Matt Schram and Family.

My deepest condolences to Rob's family and friends. 
I worked with Rob for many years at Merck. He was great to work with -- very smart and thoughtful, a great listener who respected others' input and valued excellence. He was a strong strategist and leader with a knack for simplifying the complex. Rob's dry wit made for a lot of fun while navigating the challenges of the day. 
May his memory be a blessing.

Rob was a very fine man.  I’ll never forget, shortly after I was divorced, he asked me how I was doing and I responded with work related issues and then he stopped me in midsentence and he said no, how are YOU doing? That tells you what kind of person he was. I’ll never forget him and I appreciate his humanity very much. 

My  sincere condolences to everyone in his family.

So sorry to hear this news …… way too young!  I met Rob in Atlanta when I joined Merck in 1993 and had the pleasure of knowing him and working with him throughout my Merck career. Rob was quiet, thoughtful, introspective and just smart as heck!  Rob’s promotions along the way were never a surprise. The organization recognized his talent and leadership and kept placing him in positions of increasing responsibility because they knew he could drive the business, and more importantly, develop the next level of future leaders. You are missed, Rob. My sincere condolences to all of his family and friends.

Sending thoughts and prayers to  Rob’s family, friends and loved ones.  Rob was admired for his ability to ask the right questions to be able to come to decisions and, altho he did not enjoy being the center of attention, gained much respect from those with whom he worked. Sincere condolences.
Barbara Weiskittel ( Merck colleague)

Dear Rode Family -
I had the honor and pleasure of knowing and working with Rob for many years as a Merck colleague.  Rob's insights, dry sense of humor, quick wit and willingness to dialogue were hallmarks of his leadership. I have many fond memories of working side by side with him on tough issues but he always made work fun. I could count on his collegiality and insights. His willingness to challenge ideas and speak truth. He will always have a warm place in my heart and for our shared Merck experiences! My deepest condolences to the family and know he is forever in our hearts and memories...
Fondly, Barb Jarvis

It was a pleasure to have worked with Rob  at Merck. He was kind , patient, wise and curious all at once . 

My deepest condolences to his family and may he Rest In Peace .

I had the pleasure to work with Rob during our careers at Merck, and then a nice chance to reconnect with him in some recent work at Apnimed. He was a professional, smart with a quick wit, and one of "the good guys". He was smart enough to know what he did not know, and always ready to listen and learn.
Our condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.

Very sorry to learn of Rob's passing.  He was a kind, thoughtful, and gentle leader with whom I had the pleasure of working over a decade ago.  Thoughts and prayers to his loved ones.

Our dear friend Rob was a force of nature, but was never the loudest or most vocal presence in the room. He would observe, discern the situation, and only speak up when the time was right and his words would help create change, right the ship, or direct people towards the proper course of action. I will always be grateful to Rob, he was the first one to have enough faith to give me the responsibility to lead a team and a launch, and he taught me so much about how to lead. On my first day working for him he said “at the end of each day, when you’re walking down the long hallway to the parking garage, ask yourself how many times that day did you look your people in the eye and respond to their question by saying ‘that’s your call.’ If you show that faith in them, they will greatly exceed even their own highest expectations; they will drive our success, and more importantly will grow to their full potential.” May his influence on us all continue to drive us to do the right thing. Miss you bud.

Dawn, Ethan, Jonathan, & Caleb.  You are in my thoughts and prayers.  Rob was so much a part of  my friend circle at Otterbein.  He will be missed.  Hope you enjoy the pictures of us being knuckle heads in the dorms.

Dawn, Ethan, Jonathan and Caleb I thought you might enjoy some college pictures of Rob with his Otterbein friends.   We had some many good times in Mayne Hall and around campus.   We will miss him.

My deepest sympathies to Rob's family on his passing.  I had the privilege to work with Rob at Merck. He was very smart, very humble, very witty, and though he could be a "curmudgeon" he was very warm to those he was close with.  We worked very closely together when he ran the US HIV franchise in the early 2000's.  He was one of the "easiest" direct reports to manage, as he was always on top of things, very committed, always gave it to you straight, and was very open to feedback. My best memory with Rob was when we flew out to LA together (and he loved it as we got to fly the Merck plane) as I was accepting the HIV Hero's Award from the Black Actor's Guild.  He accompanied me down the red carpet at the Director's Guild on Sunset Boulevard, and was mad that no photographers took our photo. He explained who Common was (a rapper) who presented the award, and chuckled when he couldn't pronounce words like "indinavir". And he played it very cool when we sat next to Coretta Scott King and her daughter. It was classic Rob - a very impressive scene with very impressive attendees - but he was "Mr. Cool" who took it all in stride and found humor in the little things.  May we all learn something from Rob as we deal with what life brings our way. God Bless and God Speed, my friend.

It was a privilege to know and work with Rob, to learn from him and to get to know him as a colleague and friend.  My deepest condolences to the family all as you come to terms with his passing.  It is not easy to accept that he is gone so soon.  Rob impacted so many people through his work, from patients who benefited from innovation he helped to bring forward to colleagues who needed guidance or advice.  He was unvarnished with those close to him, and I loved that about him, but he was also deeply caring person who put people first.   I will miss his wit and wisdom; he was not short on either.   He, along with you all, are in our thoughts and prayers as we come to grips with his passing and celebrating his life.
John

OBITUARY

Robert "Rob" Joseph Rode

7 March, 1968 – 9 August, 2023

Georgia Memorial Park Funeral Home & Cemetery Winkenhofer Chapel

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