Rod, 84, died November 12, 2014. He jumped at Missoula during the 1949 season and attended the University of Montana and Montana State. Rodney served in the Army during the Korean War and was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

He later graduated from Eastern Washington University and got his Masters from Whitworth College. He taught at the elementary and junior high school level at schools in the Spokane Valley. Rodney retired from teaching in 1990.