Russell Dean Rhoades

It was a beautiful bluebird day in Yakima, Washington when Russell “Dean” Rhoades left us for the afterworld. He passed on October 17, 2024, six months after the death of his beloved wife, Carol Ann Rhoades, and just two months shy of his 89th birthday.

His five “kids” had the chance to spend quality time with him over a two-week period that included workouts at the gym to gain mobility after pneumonia. Many thanks to the ICU team at Yakima Memorial Hospital who gave him amazing care before his heart finally gave out.

Dean lived a good long life and was loved. He was a diehard Seahawks and golf fan and a reluctant but excellent cook. His specialties include delicious biscuits and gravy, amazing pancakes and the best pot of ham and beans this side of the Mississippi.

He was born December 17, 1935, to Russell Rhoades and Jewell Strickland in Wendell, ID. He had an adventurous childhood in Bonner’s Ferry where he worked delivering newspapers, building chicken coops and trapping gophers on the neighbor’s farm.

He met Carol at Jenkins High School in Chewelah Washington before enlisting in the Air Force, stationed in Colville. They were married in Chewelah on June 9, 1957, with a honeymoon in Glacier National Park. Their journey included homes in Connell and Cheney, Washington, and Anchorage Alaska, and lastly retiring in Yakima in 1997.

When he wasn’t watching old western movies, Dean loved to camp and fish, which is why his 40+ year career with the telephone industry led him to live in Alaska. He and Carol purchased “Big Red” to travel the state as weekend warriors for 10 summers of adventure where he caught hundreds of pounds of sockeye and coho salmon, 50-pound kings and gigantic halibut. But nothing beat the early days in his boat on lakes and rivers across Washington, catching trout with friends and family.

Dean is survived by his children Larry (Carol), Kim (Ric), Mark, Craig (Kimmy) and Diana; his grandchildren Duncan (Nicolette), Lauren (Laura), great-grandchildren Allison, Ara and Rylie, his sister, Jan Foust and many cousins, friends, and extended family.

Please join us for a celebration of life Friday, April 25, 2025 at 1 pm at

Keith and Keith Funeral Home, 902 W. Yakima Ave, Yakima, WA 98902.

To leave a memory and sign the online guestbook, please visit keithandkeith.com.