Our Story

JOHN THOMAS ROHDE III

John T. Rohde III established THE ROHDE FOUNDATION in the year following the death of his mother, Jocie. Moved by the tributes at her memorial service, including from the Bishop of Colorado, Bishop of Honduras, priests, missionaries, nieces, grandchildren, and endless friends, he decided to do something to carry on the family legacy. The result is THE ROHDE FOUNDATION, formed in order to carry on the work begun by John T. Rohde and Alice Rohde; John T. Rohde Jr. and Jocie Rohde, and many more family members in the last three generations.

Family

Jocelyn DeShong Rohde
November 21, 1932- September 20, 2014

Jocelyn Rohde's loving spirit throughout life is truly the inspiration for our Foundation. Her kind and loving nature was always present as she raised a family, volunteered at library and church, ran businesses, raised horses, and together with her husband, served as foreign missionaries, spending 8 years at the orphanage El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

John Thomas Rohde, Jr.
March 1^st , 1929 – April 13^th, 2017

John Thomas Rohde, Jr. became Director of El Hogar y Esperanza, an orphanage and home for poor children in Honduras' capital city, in 1988. Jocelyn quickly joined him in this mission. They divided their time between Tecucigalpa, Honduras, and traveling throughout the US and Canada to raise funds for the mission. In eight years, the Rohde's doubled the size of orphanage and technical school, added high school curriculum, and purchased a farm. The farm school now teaches modern farming and livestock techniques to high school age children and provides food for all three facilities. Jocie continued to work for the project for many years after leaving Honduras, serving on the board and as secretary for El Hogar donors program. When word of "Dona Jocelyn's" illness reached Honduras, the entire staff turned out to make a video tribute to her.

Clyde Thomas
1883-1965

Clyde Thomas was of English ancestry. She lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and in 1901 married John Rohde, a German who had come to the United States as an apprentice tailor in 1888. Her maiden name was given as the middle name of their first born son, John Thomas Rohde. The couple had two other sons, Walton, who died as a young man, and Parkey, who died as an infant.

Alice Triplett Rohde
April 28, 1905-January 21, 1982

John Thomas Rohde
September 23, 1905 - August 21, 1981

John Thomas Rohde was a business man in Kansas City, Missouri and later he and Alice were Christmas Tree farmers in Edwardsville, Kansas. Their legacy included two children and seven grandchildren, three adopted sons from the Kansas City area, and St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church, which they formed in Edwardsville, Kansas in 1950. THE ROHDE FOUNDATION continues to support St. Martin in the Fields today.