Rhondda Devalois was born in Bellingham on May 6, 1941 to her parents John and Margarita (Rita) DeValois and was raised in the nearby dairy farming town of Lynden. For her formative years there was an enjoyable variety of activities from raising milk cows, picking berries and feeding the hired hands. From an early age it was apparent she was an overachiever in school and was eager to get out and see the world. She attended business school while still in high school and intended to be a stenographer. A chance meeting with her Canadian aunt, dressed in nurses regalia of cap and cape, changed her career path to that of nursing.
She attended the small St. Joseph’s School of Nursing in Bellingham, graduating with a RN degree from the University of Washington, and immediately used that as her ticket to the world. Seattle was followed by stints in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on board the USS Hope in both Jamaica and Tunisia, and finally a year-long commitment in Winterthur, Switzerland. Fortunately for her future husband she returned to Seattle where she met Dr. Stephen Etheredge, fittingly in the operating room at the VA hospital. After a three-year courtship they were married on June 26, 1976.
They moved to California which included two years of Navy service for her husband, but Rhondda went right back to work in the operating room in San Francisco. In reality, the only time that Rhondda did not work as an OR nurse was during the formative years of her two sons, Stephen and Brian. She described this period of time as “my most important job,” and not to be missed. Once the young men were in high school, she returned to her other love, the operating room, working at an outpatient surgery center until age 75.
Her demeanor in the operating room always made her popular with the patients, the doctors and the other staff. She was always timely, a fount of knowledge no matter what the case, smiling, positive and gracious. Her laugh could light up even a tense OR. She carried all of these characteristics into the next phase of her life. The travel bug that had been so important in her younger days resurfaced. Over the last seven years, Russia, Turkey, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Italy, Iceland, France, Ireland, England and even Antarctica were all explored. New adventures, new friends, new experiences.
Unfortunately a recurrent cancer that resisted all forms of therapy robbed her of her time and us of her presence. She succumbed on June 17, 2023 in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by her family.
She was predeceased by her parents, John and Rita DeValois, by her older brother Terry DeValois (Dee) and her son, Brian Etheredge. She is survived by her husband Steve Etheredge and her son, Stephen Etheredge (Sara) and granddaughters Scarlett, Piper and Sadie. Her younger brother John DeValois (Debbi) resides in White Rock, B.C., Canada.
Her love, her smile, her sparkling eyes and especially infectious laugh will all be missed by those she left behind. May her spirit live on in all those patients whose lives she touched with kindness and care, in her colleagues who benefitted from her cheerful willingness to share her knowledge and get the job done with a smile, and to all whose paths she crossed with her positive attitude, elegance, graciousness and charm. If you please, do your best to pass along these attributes to all you deal with in your own daily lives.
