Reginald Rodman

The Reverend Reginald (Reg) Cary Rodman (85) of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, died peacefully on August 27, 2020.

Reg was born in Brookline, Massachusetts and attended the Rivers Country Day School and Marlboro College in Vermont.  After graduating, he had a brief stint as a copywriter in Boston before joining the Navy. On return, he moved to Colorado and worked in sales.  He met and married Kathryn Carneal Russell.  They lived in Denver and had two children, Reginald Jr., and Rosamond Cary.

Reg felt called to the serve in the Episcopal Church.  He and Kathryn moved to Evanston, Illinois so that he could attend Seabury Western Seminary.  While there, a third child, Jennifer Russell, was born.

The Rodman family returned to Colorado from Evanston and Reg was placed as deacon at St. Aidan’s in Boulder. A short time later he became the rector of St. John Chrysostom in Golden, Colorado.  He was instrumental in establishing that congregation and overseeing the construction of a new building.

Through a life-long and commendable career with the Episcopal Church, Reg served as deacon, rector, vicar, and missioner in churches in Colorado, Hawai’i, and Oregon. He had a particular love and talent for building up and growing congregations.  He had a second marriage to Terrie Armstrong.

Ever alert to ways the holy appears in everyday life, Reg saw grace in the clumsy and cast out; discovered dignity in the daily moments; he helped many find untapped stores of love and redemption in the unavoidable hurts of life. Reg savored the opportunity to share his sightings in sermons and writings.  His great good humor and love of language made him a skilled orator and prodigious writer. He penned many essays, poems, and two books, Nicodemus: The Life and The Legend; and Seeing with the Heart and Soul.

As a child, Reg learned to hunt, fish, and sail from his father, a noted outdoorsman.  He became an accomplished sailor, piloting sailboats in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and from New Zealand to Hawaii.  While rector of Christ Church in Kealakekua, Hawai’i, Reg took delight in a paddling with a Hawai’ian outrigger canoe team.  Naturally artistic, he took wonderful portrait photographs and made delightful sculptures from wood that he found while walking on the beach.

Donations in his memory may be made to Marlboro College (Marlboro.edu) or Kai ‘Opua Canoe Club in Kailua Kona, Hawai’i (kaiopua.org/donations).

A private service for family will be held at St. John Chrysostom in Golden, Colorado.