Robert D. Rhoads 1935-2024
Robert D. Rhoads, retired Vice President and Technical Director of Schoenstein & Co., died at the age of 88 on February 10, 2024, at his Sonoma, CA home. Born in Burbank, CA, his family moved to a farm in Sunnyside, WA where he first acquired his tenacious, “can-do” attitude. Bob attended Simpson College in Washington and assisted in re-locating the college to San Francisco. Part of that project was installing two campus pipe organs. In San Francisco, he earned an AA in electrical engineering from Cogswell College while working on installation and maintenance of industrial boilers.
In 1960, he started Robert D. Rhoads Pipe Organ Service. In 1961, he became an M.P. Möller representative, selling, installing, and servicing in the Northern California area. In 1970, he returned to Simpson College as head of maintenance and engineer of their radio station. When offered an opportunity to plan and install radio studio equipment and transmitters throughout the country, he became chief engineer of Family Radio, a national religious network.
After completing the radio broadcasting project in 1974, Bob again entered the organ business. He purchased a building and set up an organ shop, employing two full-time people besides his wife, Dolores. During the “Pizza Organ” craze, they renovated and installed many Wurlitzer organs.
In 1978, Rhoads Pipe Organ Service was purchased by Schoenstein & Co. Bob became factory manager and Dolores, manager of tuning service. Bob was responsible for developing and refining the designs of nearly every component of the Schoenstein electric-pneumatic action system. He coordinated the engineering, production, and installation of all new organs as well as major re-building jobs. Some of Bob’s most notable projects at Schoenstein were organs at St. Paul’s Parish in Washington, D.C. and First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. He also supervised the restoration of the Mormon Tabernacle organ in Salt Lake City and accomplished the nearly impossible feat of installing the façade of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center in Salt Lake City while the building was still under construction.
In 1996, Bob was named Vice President and Technical Director. Company president, Jack Bethards, commented, “A major share of the credit for whatever success we’ve had in our second century goes to Bob who personally supervised our most challenging installations and spearheaded the development of many of our technical innovations. He is one of the most tenacious, single-minded “can-do” people I have ever known. Nothing stumps him. On top of his technical know-how is a sense of good taste in both visual and tonal design.”
In April of 2003, Bob retired after 24 years of service. He stayed busy enjoying several hobbies including a serious interest in audio systems, photography, and the architecture and furniture of the “craftsman” period. He is survived by Dolores, two children, and seven grandchildren.