Ms. Kisten Julianka Rhodes

Kisten Julianka Rhodes, 52, of Missouri City, Texas, passed away on January 6, 2022. She was born in Camden, Arkansas, on September 1, 1969. She attended The Greater St. Paul Baptist Church in Camden, Arkansas, where she was an active member of the youth choir.

Kisten graduated from Camden High School in 1987. At various times in her life, Kisten also lived in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Littleton, Colorado. She went on to attend Southern Arkansas University (SAU) in Magnolia, Arkansas, where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She was active in the band program while there, and became a member of Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority. During her time at SAU, she was also initiated into the Lambda Mu Chapter (Spring ’91) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She furthered her studies by obtaining a Masters of Business Administration from Texas Woman’s University.

Kisten had a career in purchasing and procurement. During her career, she worked at Houston Community College and later, at Texas Southern University (TSU), in Houston, Texas, at the time of her passing. She served as senior buyer and Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) coordinator at TSU, a program created to ensure that Historically Underutilized Businesses have equal access to procurement and contracting opportunities. She received several awards for her work, including recognition from the Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum Committee.

She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc., the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Sickle Cell Association of Houston, and other civic and community service organizations.

She was preceded in death by her mother Linda Crystal Allen Rhodes.

She is survived by her father, Jimmie Rhodes, of Lakewood, California, her sister, Dr. Ramona Rhodes and niece Serenity Rhodes of Little Rock, Arkansas, and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 1 pm, January 22nd, at Carl Barnes Funeral Home in Houston, Texas.

A graveside service will be conducted at Memorial Park Cemetery in Camden, Arkansas, on January 26, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.. The graveside service will be officiated by Reddick Funeral Home, in Camden, Arkansas.