James Stephen Rhodes

James Stephen Rhodes was born on September 5th , 1948 in Craig, Colorado, the son of James “Dusty” and Gladys Rhodes. He spent much of his young life in Texas, but moved to Arkansas when his father Dusty signed on to work as a welder on the building of the Beaver Dam, and he graduated in 1967 from Prairie Grove High School in Prairie Grove, AR. Steve, as his friends knew him, loved people. One of his favorite past-times was simply talking with people and learning about them, especially if that was over a game of cards. He loved meeting new people and never met a stranger. He put everyone, including strangers, instantly at ease by making it easy to talk to him. Besides his engaging personality, Steve could be a prankster and loved to laugh. Conversing with him was always entertaining because he enjoyed sharing things that he had learned with others, always having some interesting fact or story to tell. Steve was an avid student of both current world events and history, particularly Bible history. His belief in the Bible was an important part of his life as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and he enjoyed talking to people about the Bible. Steve had an artist’s touch and an eye for beauty, seen in the detail of his work with painting homes, in artwork that he had done, as well as the pride he took in the flowers he planted. He also had a wide variety of passion for sports because of playing a middle linebacker in high school football and also for the teams from all the places he had lived; he loved the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dallas Cowboys, and of course our local Hogs. He is survived by his sons, Patrick Shawn of Springdale, AR, and Jarrod Layne of Fayetteville, AR; his brother William Allen of Indianapolis, IN; sister Sally Hickman of Springdale, AR; and his grandchildren Evangeline Zoie of Fayetteville, AR, and Shawn Tyler of Springdale, AR. He was preceded in death by his mother, Gladys, and his father, Dusty. A memorial of his life will be held on Saturday, April 29th at 1:00 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2837 N. Old Wire Rd, Fayetteville, AR or virtually on Zoom – Login ID: 479 521 1052 Passcode: 5683. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made at donate.jw.org. Online condolences may be left at www.siscofuneral.com

James Stephen Rhodes

September 5, 1948 - April 11, 2023