Ron Rhoads

Ron Rhoads is recalled for his imitation of movie stars in class assemblies.  I still remember his Jimmy Cagney:  “You dirty rat.”  Or his John Wayne:  “Waa-haa.  I’m gonna rustle me up some cows and kiss a pretty horse, waa-haa.”  After high school, Ron saw the world.  He first enlisted in the Navy.  After his tour with the Navy, he earned a degree from the University of Washington.  Then he joined the Marines, where he became an attack pilot, flying the A-4M Skyhawk.  As of this writing, he is a corporate pilot for the international agrochemical enterprise, Gowan Company.  When I spoke to him, he expressed himself easily—a kind of quietude, like a man who had enough successful missions to his credit to know he had nothing to prove.