Chester Verne (Chet) Rhodes

life story

He left a lasting legacy

"His hard work, conscientious leadership and quiet determination have had a profound and lasting impact on the school system and the lives of the students and staff members who benefited from his service."

--George Murdock, educator

He came a long way in a life

Chet Rhodes had to overcome a lot of hardships as a kid. His father abandoned the family when Chet was very young, and his mother remarried a man who moved around to jobs in various towns in Idaho and Oregon. His mother died at age 33 during his sophomore year in high school, one week after his 17th birthday. "It is satisfying to me," he recalled years later, "that after my mother's death, I was able to earn every cent of my way through high school and college." And so he did, graduating from high school in Hermiston, OR, and going on to earn a degree in business administration, with minors in economics and education, in 1931 from the College (now University) of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. While there he worked as a janitor and played guard on the football team.

Three years after graduating, Chet had the good fortune of meeting a pretty teacher named Henrietta Dingley. They married on June 14, 1934, in Seattle and began 55 years of life together that included raising two sons, Don and Jack.

Chet worked for 39 years in public education -- 6 1/2 of those teaching and coaching athletics (1931-1937) in Oak Harbor and Anacortes, WA, and 32 1/2 years serving as superintendent of schools in LaConner, Concrete, Marysville and, finally, Chehalis, where he worked for 21 years.

His immediate challenge upon arriving in Chehalis in 1949 was to spearhead construction of a high school building to replace the one destroyed by a massive earthquake in April of that year. That accomplished, he continued to build his reputation as an admired educational and civic leader until his retirement in 1970. "He was most often addressed as 'skipper'," said former teacher and coach Rod Giske, "and certainly no captain took more sailors from ravaging storms of the high seas of life to a safe and snug harbor."

Chet was active in Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Chehalis Methodist Church. He also served on the Tumwater Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Chet and Henrietta moved from Chehalis to Marysville, WA, in 1987 to be closer to son Don and his family. Chet died September 29, 1989, after battling Parkinson's disease and other health issues.