Glenda Rhodes
Nov 16, 1942 -
Jul 30, 2026
Glenda Rhodes was born on Nov. 16, 1942, in Eugene, Ore., to Glen and Doris Rhodes.
She passed away on July 30, 2026, in Newport, Ore., at 83 years young.
She lived in Newport as a child and considered Newport her home, anxious to return when she retired. Glenda and her family moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in 1955 so her dad could help her grandparents with a logging operation in Bird Creek.
Glenda loved Alaska and her life was full and rewarding for the 49 years she lived in Anchorage. She and her husband Pete moved to Edmonds, Wash., in 2004. They moved back to her hometown of Newport in 2013, fulfilling one of her dreams.
Glenda graduated from the University of Oregon in 1964 with a major in accounting. She loved telling the story of the first day of registration when she was a freshman. She had picked her major and was ready to stand in line to register for classes when she looked over and saw there was no line for accounting majors. Since she was anxious to register and head to the Student Union for some social time, she moved to the line for accounting majors. This was the beginning of her career of 40 plus years as a CPA.
She was an Oregon Duck football fanatic since watching her first Oregon football game. Every time Oregon fell behind their opponent, she was sure they were going to lose, mostly this was a false assumption. She would text her fellow fans saying "well, we are done, no way out of this one." When Oregon ended up winning, the text read "I knew we would pull it off."
Glenda was a CPA and a partner in three accounting firms: Johnson and Morgan, a local Alaska firm; Laventhol and Horwath, a national Big 8 firm; and Deloitte, a national Big 4 firm. When you met her, it was instantly apparent she did not fit into the mold of the average serious, rule-following CPA. She was fun loving and serious only about doing the right thing for the right reasons.
She was a wonderful friend and would do anything to support them. She was there to listen, give advice and help. Glenda was a connector of people. She was always keeping up on what her friends all over the world were up to and would share those updates with other friends, keeping people connected, even if distance brought them apart. She cared deeply about the people that she loved and wanted to keep them all connected. She was forever the light and the force in a room full of friends.
She gave much of her time, energy and money to support the local Anchorage economy. She spent many years as president of the Anchorage Arts Council helping to bring the arts to life. She was instrumental in making sure that the Arts flourished with the building of the Anchorage Center for the Performing Arts.
She was passionate about practicing and playing her beloved grand piano. It was a requirement that every new house purchased must have a room for her grand piano.
She collected cookbooks from everywhere she visited on vacation and tried to make at least one recipe from every book. Her collection included more than 400 cookbooks.
She went nowhere without her purse – even on hikes in Denali National Park. She was always aware of her appearance, managing to smile in the best and worst of times.
Glenda had no children and was quick to embrace her nephews and her friends' children as though they were her own. She was like a fairy godmother to all friend's children.
She was proceeded in death by her parents, Glen and Doris Rhodes; and first husband, Clyde Sherwood. Glenda is survived by her husband of 36 years, Pete Sloane; brother, Mark Rhodes; sister, Karen Sue Rhodes; and nephews, Neil and Evan Rhodes. She also leaves many good friends who will miss her extraordinary friendship and will always have a special spot in their hearts for her. She had plans for many more travel adventures, often telling her friends, "I have 10 more good years and I plan to use them."
