Rhonda Marie Odom passed peacefully on March 22nd in Lubbock, TX, after a courageous two-year battle with cancer. Rhonda was blessed with a sharp mathematical mind that could make sense of any mess of numbers, a memory so keen she could always locate a lost item by retracing her steps, and eyes that sparkled at a joke even before the punchline. She loved animals and would give her last penny to ensure that no creature went cold or hungry.
Rhonda is survived by her daughter Megan, Megan’s wife Erika, and their son Ezra; her sister Leisa Hutcheson, husband Bobby, and son E. Ryne, as well as her sister Martha Ellerbrook, husband Terry and their children Kassie, Jacob, and Nicholas; and countless friends who surrounded her in love before her death.
Rhonda’s competitive spirit shone through in card games, and in her last two years she learned Chinese mahjong, playing weekly with her group. She earned her pilot’s license by flying her first solo flight before even obtaining her driver’s license. Her fiscal acumen took her to Washington, DC, where she worked at the FDIC, before returning to Lubbock as an accountant at Texas Tech. Rhonda loved traveling to Colorado for family visits and enjoyed road trips with her sisters in recent years, truly living while bravely facing her illness.
She was most proud of her daughter, Megan, a dancer, somatic practitioner, and artist in Boulder, CO, to whom she dedicates her heart “to the moon and back.”
She is preceded in death by her parents, Ron and Shirley Odom; paternal and maternal grandparents; aunts, uncles, and many cousins. Rhonda leaves behind beloved friends and family who will miss her dearly.
Posted online on April 03, 2026
Published in Lubbock Avalanche-Journal