Mr. Roderick Gordon Shreve's Obituary
Rod was born in Washington, D.C. in 1942, the youngest of the three children of Porter Gaylord and Elsie Gordon Shreve. He enjoyed an idyllic childhood in Glover Park with his sister Jackie and brother Porter during a time when D.C. was truly a small town. His fondest memories were watching movies outside at the neighborhood elementary school and taking the streetcar to Glen Echo Park in the summers. Rod discovered his love for dogs at a young age and slept every night as a boy with his beloved Candy curled up under his chin, a practice he would continue throughout his life with many beloved dogs: Noir, Tar, Alex, Abby, Zoey and Boo to name a few.
Rod always wanted to know how things worked. When he was very little, he snuck down to a basement room where the telephone line entered their row house. He rigged up a knife switch and tapped into his mother’s telephone line. When the phone technician came to check for static on the line, he traced the trouble to Rod’s secret spy closet. While this did not go over well with his mother, it began a fascination with phones and wiring that led to Rod’s having a phone in every room of every house he ever owned, and also having one of the first cell phones (complete with a bag) in the D.C. area. Rod never cared about using phones. He just wanted to connect them. That changed however in his last years, when he became a very regular phone pal to many patient and loving friends and family. You know who you are.
Rod’s father passed away when Rod was only three years old. Despite trying circumstances, his mother was able to fulfill their father’s dream to send his boys to St. Alban’s School, which is associated with the National Cathedral. Rod had a patchwork of scholarships, one of which required that he clean the cathedral’s many wooden chairs, which he would lower using ropes from the lofts high overhead. He eventually had keys to every door in the cathedral, something he would repeat when he became director of technical support ministries for Christ United Methodist Church.
Rod was expected to play football at St. Albans as the younger brother of Porter, whom St. Albans has since named the greatest athlete in the history of the school. At his first practice in 10th grade he didn’t know which way to line up. Undaunted, he went on to start every game and score two touchdowns in St. Alban’s undefeated 1960 season.
Rod’s career began in the Christmas toy department at Woodward and Lothrop, a local D.C. department store. Rod went on to have many roles in the retail industry, and his favorite job was as a buyer for Strawbridge & Clothier, a department store on the Philadelphia mainline. He bought men’s accessories and made regular trips to Italy to design ties and leather goods. That began a love affair with Italy, especially Florence. He loved the art and the scenery, but he particularly loved the prosciutto and melon, tortellini, fettuccine Alfredo and lemon gelato.
Rod was a military policeman in the National Guard and was called to active duty during the riots in D.C. after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis. He described how surreal it was to see the smoke of many fires burning down his hometown. He recounted stopping at a red light in an open jeep in downtown D.C. and a kind gentleman telling him that he and his fellow guardsmen shouldn’t stop for any more red lights. It was just too dangerous. They didn’t.
Rod relocated to Memphis in 1987 to the hometown of his bride-to-be, Amy W. Atkinson. Within a few months of his arrival, he attended Walk to Emmaus number 21. It was a life-changing experience for him, and he and Amy remained involved for their almost 33 year marriage.
Rod leaves behind two very beloved daughters Shelly S. Hudson (Lee Hudson) and Holly S. Whitehurst (Kirk Faett). He also leaves four handsome and accomplished grandsons: Cody Yeager, Matthew Hudson, Dakota Whitehurst and Logan Whitehurst. If you know Rod, you’ve heard him brag about his family, who brought him great joy.
Rod was always a gentleman. He was kind and soft-spoken but he was also a fighter. Rod endured years of intense pain and debilitation during the last years of his life. He faced these challenges with courage and without complaint. While we will miss him desperately, we rejoice that he is now restored and free from pain and that he has seen Jesus face-to-face.
The family humbly asks that should you wish to make a donation in his memory that you make it to his nephew George Jemison, who is serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand in a ministry providing counseling support to missionaries in southeast Asia. You may contribute at www.journeywiththejemisons.com select “donate” and indicate that it is in memory of Rod Shreve.
Visitation for Rod will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2020 from 5 PM until 7 PM at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave., Memphis TN, 38119. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on January 24, 2020 at 11 AM at Harvest Church, 3645 Forest Hill Irene Road, Germantown, TN, 38138.
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