Michael Kemp Rodda, 87, passed away on May 19, 2026, due to Heart Failure. Born on April 14,1939, in Sandusky, Michigan, Mike was the eldest son of Reverend E. Thomas Rodda and Marion Kemp Rodda. For those who knew him, Mike was unforgettable with a sharp mind, a ready wit, and an easy smile. He was always ready to help a friend and kept a $5 bill in his wallet for anyone whose need was greater than his own. He had a gift for making people feel welcomed and valued family above all else. If you were counted among his friends, you were family to him as well.

Mike attended the University of Wyoming, earning both his Bachelor’s (1961) and Master’s (1962) degrees in Electrical Engineering. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and Sigma Nu fraternity where his pledge name was “Hot Rodda.” Upon graduation, he married in Casper, WY and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force serving as an electronics officer with the Air Force Systems Command at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY, where he designed ground-based electronic warfare tracking systems.

After completing his service in 1965, Mike moved to Houston, Texas, where he designed display systems for Philco Ford as a contractor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center during the Apollo Program. It was in Houston that he and his first wife, Abby, started their family and had a son and daughter. In 1969, he joined Humble Oil and Refining Company (later ExxonMobil) as a business systems programmer and telecommunications engineer. He went on to complete his MBA at the University of Houston in 1971 and became a Registered Professional Engineer.

In 1975, Mike married the love of his life, Joy Mitchell, beginning a partnership that lasted more than 50 years. They raised their daughter in Baytown, TX, where Mike was an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, singing in the choir, lay reading and serving so many terms on the vestry as Treasurer, that he was eventually provided a nametag that read, “Mike Rodda, Still Treasurer…”

Mike was a naturally gifted problem-solver, endlessly curious about how things worked and was happiest when building, fixing, or improving something. He enjoyed volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and participated alongside President Jimmy Carter in 1998 in a blitz build.

After a 29-year career managing business and telecommunications projects, Mike retired from Exxon in 1999. He and Joy moved to Northwest Arkansas, settling on Beaver Lake in the Ozark Mountains, where they enjoyed four seasons and the topography that Mike had missed during his years in Texas. They lived in a home that he built and wired with the help of a book titled “How to Wire Your House” purchased in a Walmart checkout line. For almost 20 years the lake became the center of many family memories —swimming, evening boat rides, and pulling the grandkids behind the boat on ‘Big Bertha’.

In retirement Mike discovered a passion for woodturning creating equal parts sawdust and beautiful turnings. Many friends and family members treasure his handcrafted eggs, bowls, candlesticks, salt and pepper grinders, and other decorative pieces. He also volunteered with Tax Aide, recertifying annually to assist low-income and elderly community members complete their taxes and continued his lifelong passion for photography. Among his images, the family recently found a collection titled “The Focus of My Lens,” a series of images of Joy taken over their final years together—a quiet testament to his devotion.

Mike embraced life’s quirks with humor, including an Android phone that no one else could figure out. In 2018, Mike and Joy moved to Winston-Salem, NC, to be closer to his grandchildren and his son. Mike could always be counted on to drive grandkids to appointments sending them a text upon his arrival stating, “Your Guber is here (Grandpa’s Uber)!”

In Winston-Salem, Mike continued his photography and sang in the choir at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. The humor was not lost on him that, as a lifelong Episcopalian, he spent his final days in a Life Plan Community affiliated with the Baptist Church (where he received excellent care and made cherished friends).

Mike is survived by his wife, Joy Mitchell Rodda; his children Matthew Rodda, Kristen Rodda Fortson, and Jennifer Rodda; his “German daughter,” Gudrun Simon; and multiple grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Thomas C. Rodda.

The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Brookridge Retirement Community and Trellis Supportive Care for their compassionate palliative and hospice care provided during the last months of Mike’s life.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Baptist Retirement Homes Foundation for the benefit of Brookridge Memory Care ( www.thrivemorenc.org/donte-now or PO Box 11024, Winston-Salem, NC 27116), to NPR, or PBS, organizations Mike supported throughout his life. A memorial service will be held at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem; details will be announced soon.

The world is a gentler, richer place for having had Mike in it—and a lesser one without him.