Rhoda was born March 2, 1945 in Douglas, AZ to Amelia and Pablo Mejia. She was the eldest of six siblings. Her dad was a Christian missionary and, as a child, she followed him to different churches to spread the gospel.
It was at one of these churches where four-year old Rhoda met her future husband, Elizandro Bermudez. Years later, her sister, Liz, would fix them up. The pair would go on to marry April 8, 1967. They were the first couple to be wed at La Puerta Abierta in Los Angeles.
In the 1970s, Elizandro and Rhoda relocated to Yuma, AZ. After 17 years of marriage and faithful prayer, they welcomed their first-born, Jessica. They would have two more children, Joshua and Jeremy.
Rhoda and Elizandro were happily married 45 years. She and their children were by his side when he passed away in 2012 to lung cancer.
Rhoda dedicated her life to Jesus. She played piano, sang, led the church choir, and taught missionettes at Templo Bethel.
In her career, Rhoda worked at Century 21 Action Group for more than 35 years as an office manager.
In 2017, Rhoda remarried Pastor Philip David Ruiz. The two met as teenagers but went on their separate paths. They reconnected more than 50 years later. The couple retired in Salem, Oregon.
On January 4th, 2020, Rhoda returned to Yuma, along with Phil, to spend her final days surrounded by her children and family.
Her final prayer was to be healed so that she could continue to spread the gospel. She peacefully passed away on January 11, 2020. Rhoda was 74.
She is survived by her husband: Philip Ruiz; her children: Jessica Tuggle, Joshua Bermudez, and Jeremy Bermudez; their spouses: Robert Tuggle, Yadira Ojeda Bermudez, Kimberly Cheng Bermudez; three grandchildren; Preston Tuggle, Joshua Bermudez and Micah Tuggle and her sisters: Febeann Farrington; Lydia Vega; Mary Liz Blanco.
Rhoda is preceded in death by her mother Amelia S. Mejia and father Pablo C. Mejia, Late Husband Elizandro Bermudez and two siblings, Paul Mejia and Judy Salazar.
