Bolton, MA
John C. Rodenhiser Jr., 76, of Bolton died on July 13th at the Ruth Monahan Hospice Home in Worcester. He was born on November 30, 1939 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the son of the late John Cecil Rodenhiser and Corinne (Hebert) Rodenhiser Walcott.
John graduated from Hudson High School in 1957. He served in the US Air Force for four years, stationed at bases in Texas, Washington state and South Korea. After his military service, he worked for a short time at Raytheon in the Maynard Mill before walking around a chicken wire partition and applying for a position at Digital Equipment Corporation in 1964, starting a 40 year career with Digital/Compaq/Hewlett Packard. He retired in 2004 as a senior systems/software engineering manager, responsible for the a world-class customer benchmark and testing facility known as the HP IQ Center located in Littleton.
John earned an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration and Mathematics at Lowell Technological Institute and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science at Boston University.
John coached youth sports and assisted with the scouting program in Groton while raising two sons there. John served on the Building Construction Committee for the 2009 renovation and expansion of the Bolton Public Library. He was an avid golfer, but traded in his clubs for a succession of Sabre sloops sailing in Buzzards Bay, Martha’s Vineyard and up the Maine coast.
John will be remembered for his propensity to take on any project, whether renovating a house, laying a walk, refinishing furniture, teaching a teenager to drive or programming an electronic leader board for the first Marlborough Classic Senior PGA Tour Event long before they were routinely used by the PGA.
John is survived by his wife Ann S. Hurd of Bolton; three sons David J. Rodenhiser of Somerville; Stephen G. Rodenhiser and his wife Jennifer Couture of Concord and their children Vittoria and Luke; and Alec C. Palmer of Rockport. He was predeceased by his brother Charles.
A celebration of John’s life is planned for later in the summer. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his name to the Rose Monahan Hospice Home, c/o VNA Care Network & Hospice Development Office, 199 Rosewood Drive - Suite 180, Danvers, MA 01923 or Greyhound Placement Service, 432 Sixth Street, Dover, NH 03820.