GENEVIEVE ANN PFEIFER RHODES's Obituary
Genevieve Ann Pfeifer Rhodes, 96, of Leesburg, VA passed away peacefully at her home on October 26, 2024 surrounded by family members.
Born May 26, 1928 in Yankton, South Dakota, Genevieve is preceded in death by her loving husband of 67 years Gerald Rhodes, her parents George and Anna Pfeifer, her brothers George and Robert Pfeifer, and her sister Jeanette Hansen.
Genevieve is survived by her children, Susan (Bruce) Friedman, Jeane (James) Cassidy, Mary (Aaron) Greso, Kathy (Gerald) Calhoun, Mark (Maura) Rhodes, and Diane (Gregory) Rhodes-Michaely; grandchildren, Samuel (Annemarie), Jessica, and Amy Friedman, Robbie (Kristin) Cassidy, Christine (Anthony) Cassidy-Ita, and Joe Cassidy, Maria (Patrick) Talamas, Elizabeth, George, Richard, and Timothy Calhoun, Jacob, and Brian Rhodes; great-grandchildren, Henry, Theodore, and Finneas Cassidy, and Clara Friedman; and several nieces and nephews.
Genevieve was a devoted wife and mother and received great joy whenever she was visited by any of her thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her hobbies included gardening and bird watching. She especially enjoyed the hummingbirds that would visit and fight over the feeder she maintained yearly.
The year after she was born, her parents moved from Hartington, Nebraska to a farm outside of La Porte City, Iowa that they bought from her paternal grandfather. There, she attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse. At the time, Iowa farm children could obtain a driver’s license at age 14, which she did so that she could drive herself and her siblings 13 miles to and from school. Genevieve graduated high school in 1946 from St. Mary’s of Mount Carmel in Eagle Center, Iowa. In 1949, she earned her nursing degree from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital School of Nursing at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. There she was the Vice President of her graduating class.
After graduation, she worked as a neonatal nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa, and served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
In 1951 Genevieve was called to active duty as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. During this tour of duty, she was stationed at Travis Air Force Base Hospital in Fairfield, California, where she tended wounded soldiers returning from the frontlines while they recovered enough that they could be moved to a hospital near their home.
After her active duty, Genevieve volunteered with the Red Cross at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sioux City, Iowa to work with critically ill polio victims during the 1952 polio epidemic. Afterwards, she returned to St. Francis Hospital where she worked as a surgical nurse. She remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until she was discharged in 1956.
In 1955, she married Gerald Rhodes who had been a Medical Technician at Travis Air Force Base. As they raised their six children, the family moved from Texas to Oklahoma, then to Wyoming and finally to Virginia, where they lived for almost 60 years. While living in Texas and Oklahoma, Genevieve maintained her nursing license, working in various hospitals and doctors’ offices.
In addition to raising six children, volunteering as an aid in the schools and spending countless hours transporting kids to after-school activities, band practice, sporting practices and events, Genevieve was an active volunteer for over 35 years in the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation's Capital (GSCNC). She served as a key volunteer who had an enormous impact on the Girl Scouts in the Herndon, Reston and Leesburg areas. The many volunteer positions that Genevieve served in included troop leader, service team chairperson, first aid trainer, new leader trainer, and member of the Council Recognition Panel, which reviews and approves nominations for council-level awards for volunteers.
She enjoyed teaching the scouts various skills needed to earn Girl Scout badges, as well as taking the troops camping, canoeing, beach trips and Council-wide activities. The most memorable camping trip was in the summer of 1972 when Hurricane Agnes changed course and put the camp where they were staying on the edge of the hurricane’s path.
In 1979, the GSCNC presented Genevieve with a Girl Scouts of the United States of America “Thanks Badge” which at the time was the highest award for volunteers. The “Thanks Badge” has been in use since the beginning of Girl Scouts. It recognizes outstanding service that is so significantly above and beyond the call of duty that no other award would be appropriate.
In addition, Genevieve was recognized at the Volunteer Appreciation Night by the Mayor of Herndon, VA in 1990.
Her Catholic faith played a central role throughout her life. In the various parishes where the family lived, Genevieve volunteered in activities such as Women’s group fundraising, sewing choir robes, serving as a Eucharistic Minister, visiting the sick, and driving disabled seniors to doctors’ appointments or shopping. Often, the parishioners she was driving were younger than she was. She was an active member at St. John The Apostle Catholic Church in Leesburg, VA for over 30 years.
The family will receive friends on Friday, November 8, 2024 from 5 to 8 pm at Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Circle SE, Leesburg, VA. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 12 noon at St. John The Apostle Catholic Church, 55 Oakcrest Manor Drive NE, Leesburg, VA. Committal Service to immediately follow at the church cemetery.
The Family asks that flowers not be sent.
In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to your Local Food Bank or to the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation's Capital (GSCNC). Link for GSCNC donations: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E206259&id=16&utm_source=website&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=evergreen
What’s your fondest memory of GENEVIEVE?
What’s a lesson you learned from GENEVIEVE?
Share a story where GENEVIEVE's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with GENEVIEVE you’ll never forget.
How did GENEVIEVE make you smile?