Rhonda Lineburg Rinker passed away on February 28, 2019 at the age of 68. She was a resident of Morningside at Bellgrade Assisted Living facility in Midlothian, Virginia for four years and four months where she was under the care of Hospice of Virginia due to advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Her struggle with AD began with a diagnosis on March 25, 2008.
Mrs. Rinker was born on March 6, 1950 in Winchester to Kenneth and Mabel Lineburg. She married Ronald D. Rinker of Winchester in 1981 and gave birth to a son, Christopher Matthew Rinker in 1982 and a daughter, Lauren Elizabeth Rinker in 1985.
She grew up in Winchester, Virginia graduating from Handley High School. She attended Madison College and Shenandoah Conservatory of Music where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music. She then earned a Master’s Degree from Florida State University in Music Therapy. She devoted 35 loving years of her life to helping physically and sexually abused children recover at the Virginia Treatment Center for Children in Richmond. She also earned accreditation in “Guided Imagery,” using those skills to ease the pain of suffering for adults with PTSD and other unresolved life issues. Many of the people whom she helped and befriended during her lifetime thought of Rhonda as an “Angel on earth.”
Rhonda promoted the Music Therapy profession by training countless MT interns and lobbying the Virginia General Assembly on behalf of the National Association for Music Therapy. She was tireless in her pursuit to positively impact the lives of struggling adults and children and gain prominence for the profession.
She is survived by her husband, son, daughter, and 3 grandchildren. Her parents are deceased. Rhonda has 3 sisters, Roxanne Rodgers of Easton, Maryland, Karen Seldon of Frederick, Maryland and Jody Kessinger of Virginia Beach.
A family night visitation for family and friends will be held prior to a formal service and cremation. The location, dates and times for the visitation and ceremony are as follows.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, March 9 from 4-6 PM at Woody Funeral Home, the Huguenot Chapel, 1020 Huguenot Road, Midlothian, VA. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, March 10 at 11 AM in the funeral home’s chapel.
The family plans to award a scholarship annually in Rhonda’s name to a deserving Handley High School senior, or a Shenandoah Conservatory of Music student who is planning a degree and career in Music Therapy.
Flowers may be sent to the Woody Funeral Home (Huguenot Chapel) at 1020 Huguenot Road, Midlothian, Virginia 23113, and donations to the Alzheimer’s Association may be sent to the Greater Richmond Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, 4600 Cox Road, Suite 130, Glen Allen, Virginia, 23060.
The family wishes to thank the many devoted caregivers at Morningside at Bellgrade Assisted Living facility, and particularly, the exceptional employees of Hospice of Virginia for their loving care of Rhonda during her finals months.
