Susan Rhodes Obituary

Susan Kay (Ast) Rhodes

March 16, 1952 - January 14, 2025

Wichita, Kansas - On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, Susan Kay (Ast) Rhodes, 72, of Wichita passed away. Susie was born on March 16, 1952, to Victor & Barbara (Sharp) Ast of Haven, Kansas. Susie grew up in Conway Springs, KS. In high school she was a part of many choirs, a cheerleader, played the French horn and was in numerous clubs. After her graduation in 1970, she attended Wichita State University as a Spanish major.

In 1972, Susie married Michael James. In 1975 they welcomed their daughter, Amy. During their marriage, she worked at the Wichita Water Department before moving to Texas, where she became a receptionist at Welex Halliburton. They eventually divorced.

In 1978, Susie returned to Wichita and worked as a receptionist at a Farm Credit Association office where she quickly advanced to office manager. At a work lunch she was introduced to Darryl Rhodes. They soon realized they were better together and married on October 3, 1980. A couple of years later, they celebrated the birth of their son, Jared.

Susie always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Her first venture was in high school selling Fashion 220 makeup. She even gave facials to girls in the cafeteria. Before Jared's birth, she, along with two others, created JPS, a photo documenting business. While running JPS she returned to her studies at WSU, but this time in interior design. In 1983, Susie and a friend co-founded Personal Touch Interior Design. She dedicated over ten years to following this passion. In the early 90's, when life got busy with family, she began selling NuSkin and started working as a Funeral Director at Wulf-Ast Mortuary. She continued both of those careers for almost a decade.

Susie's approach to life was to simply be kind and have fun. Her altruism showed through her work on the soccer complex at Northwest High School and by serving as a board member for the Erik Proffitt #19 Memorial Soccer Fund. Once, she even purchased a pair of gloves for a fast-food drive-thru worker because they mentioned how cold their hands were. Her love knew no bounds.

Susie's playful spontaneity was one of her most enduring qualities – from horror props on the dining room table for The Haunted Island, costumes for the Leukemia Society Jello Jump, repurposing the garage to construct high school homecoming parade floats or the house being decorated for one of her legendary parties…whatever it was, Susie was going all out.

Susie also loved traveling and experiencing new things. The Rhodes family explored the country together through activities with Darryl's work and she was always carpooling as many kids as possible to sporting events and tournaments. Vacations were especially meaningful to her and those she invited along. A highlight for her was traveling to Europe for Jared's soccer tournament, where she and Amy snuck away for a couple of days to shop in Paris!

Her greatest love was her grandchildren. When her first granddaughter, Natalie, was born, she celebrated by having an entirely pink Christmas. The day of her second granddaughter's birth, Julia, Susie was up, dressed and at the hospital at 5am – and if you knew Susie, she was not a morning person. The day she found out Archer, her grandson, was coming, she was so excited she didn't notice she had on two different shoes until she arrived at an appointment.

Susie will be missed by all who knew and loved her. She always said the world needed more love and she certainly lived by those words. We hope that now she has an endless supply of Sonic crushed ice, fountain Diet Coke and all the sparkly clothes her heart desires.

Susie is survived by her two children: Amy Walenta (Jeff) of Wichita, Jared Rhodes (Michele) of Sandy, UT; Three grandchildren: Natalie (17), Julia (14) and Archer (2); sisters: Pattie George (Gary), Diana Curfman, Vickie Bell, Karen McGill; brothers: Steve Ast (Debbie), Mike Ast (Barbara); and many extended family members. She is preceded in death by her husband, Darryl, both of her parents, and her nephew, Jason.

A visitation will be held on Friday, January 24, 2025, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at Downing & Lahey West Mortuary. The graveside service will be on Saturday, January 25, 2025, 2:00 pm, at Resurrection Cemetery Mausoleum located at 1640 N. Maize Road, Wichita, KS. A memorial has been established with: Erik Proffitt #19 Memorial Soccer Fund, 7009 E. 14th St. North, Wichita, KS 67206. Please make checks out to: Erik Proffitt Memorial Soccer Fund.

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