Dick Rohde Obituary

Dick Rohde passed peacefully at home in Ocala, Florida, June 4. Born on Staten Island, NY, Dec. 21, 1925, to Frederick and Stephanie, he is survived by his wife of 62 years, Helen; five children, Kelly (Boardman OH), Patty (Indianapolis), Bobbi (Austin TX), Fred (Granada Hills CA), and Cliff (Niskayuna NY); eleven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his brother, Fred (Ocala) and cousin, Grace Hathaway (Ocean NJ).

Dick earned the Purple Heart serving on the USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS, DE413, sunk in the WWII Battle of Leyte Gulf. A “Hotelie,” Dick graduated from Cornell Univ. in 1951.

He served as private club manager at The Ohio State Univ. Faculty Club, and at clubs in Monroe, Grosse Ile, and Birmingham, Michigan. 27 years in Michigan did not shake his allegiance to his OSU Buckeyes.

Dick and Helen retired to Ocala in 1996, where Dick engaged actively as a volunteer, including with the  Samuel B. Roberts Survivors Ass’n, Ocala West United Methodist Church, VA, OMUG, and Lion’s Club. Dick, an eternal optimist, storyteller and jokester, profoundly touched the lives of those he knew.

Memorial services will be Saturday, June 13, at 3 p.m. at Ocala West United Methodist Church, 9330 SW 105th St. The family encourages in lieu of flowers a gift in Dick’s memory to the American Cancer Society.

Dick Rohde in sick bay

Survivor Association stalwart Dick Rohde is in sick bay (in hospital). Thoughts and prayers for Dick and Helen all welcomed.

/cliff rohde (Dick’s son)

Who are these unidentified sailors?

Can you tell us who these sailors are? An attendee of one of the DE 413 reunions left a photocopies of these pictures at the reunion. There were three 11-by-17 inch pages, each with a multitude of photos; the quality’s not so great. Some images appear to be of the same individual. The subjects of the photographs, all of which likely were taken around the time the DE 413 was active, however, remain unidentified. Can you help identify these individuals? Please let Dick Rohde or the webmaster know! (The webmaster apologizes for having changed the numbering of the photos recently. If you’ve already provided me the information, I may need it again, with the current photo number. Very sorry about that!)

Dick Rohde WOCA radio interview

Dick Rohde, interviewed 3/29/2007 on Ocala’s WOCA radio. (requires free RealPlayer basic. Note — it will download in full before starting. This may take some time depending on your connection to the internet.)