Rod Smythe

Hello and welcome to Rod's site. This is Stephanie, one of Rod's daughters. We are using this site to update friends and family.  Some details are below, with more to follow in the journal section.

Over the past few months, Dad has been getting tired, sleeping a lot, and much more short of breath. Remember, he ran the Bolder Boulder last May, so this is quite a change. Earlier this month, the reason for these changes was found. His aortic valve, replaced in 2013, is now failing. At 90, a repair or replacement is extremely unlikely to be successful, and if you know Dad, you are probably aware that he's not a big fan of hospitals, medicines, or procedures.

Dad is back home in his apartment at Frasier Meadows in Boulder. Hospice is supporting him on this leg of his journey. In true Rod fashion, he wants to be independent and do things in his own way and in his own time, with as little interference as possible. We are doing our best to honor this, and support him and Judy, his wife of 31 years. This site is part of that  support, as Judy is unable to respond personally to all of your well-meaning emails and inquiries.

One of things Dad enjoys is stories and reminiscences from past adventures. If you would like to leave a small story of your experiences with him, he would enjoy reading and remembering.  You can do that in the well wishes section (click on the  heart logo at the right end of the purple bar)