Rhoda M. Clemens, 98, died June 13, 2026, at Garden Spot Village, New Holland, Pa. She was born Jan. 22, 1928, in Gap, Pa., to the late I. Eby Hostetter and Ruth (Martin) Hostetter. The eldest of 12 siblings, she grew up on a dairy farm.
Rhoda earned a teacher’s certificate from Eastern Mennonite College in 1951 then taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Waterloo, Pa. Several Amish students stayed in touch with her over many years.
On Aug. 16, 1952, Rhoda married Edgar M. Clemens of Souderton, Pa. She raised seven children while her husband taught at Belleville Mennonite School and Christopher Dock High School, both in Pennsylvania, and then taught chemistry at Ithaca High School in New York. They lived in Ithaca for 46 years before moving to Garden Spot Village in 2004. In Ithaca, she found community and fellowship at Bethel Grove Bible Church, where she taught Sunday school for preschoolers. When her own children were older, she enjoyed teaching English to new immigrants, creating lasting friendships.
Rhoda sewed hundreds of comforter tops for Mennonite Central Committee, taking delight in seeing photos of their use in North Korea, Ukraine and Sudan. She and Edgar hosted monthly Mennonite Fellowship potlucks in Ithaca, connecting with Cornell students preparing to work overseas. Rhoda published her memoir, A Patchwork of Memories, in 2015. She published several articles on family living in Mennonite periodicals. Later in life, Rhoda and Edgar enjoyed traveling to Israel/Palestine, Cambodia, England and Guatemala. She was an avid seamstress and gardener. Most of all, she loved spending time with her family and friends. She will be remembered for her ability to listen closely to others, ask good questions and develop lifelong friendships.
She is survived by three sons and three daughters, Fredric (Carol Brimer) Clemens of Goshen, Ind., Rosa (Thomas) Clemens-Hines of Philadelphia, Jonathan (Ruth Keidel) Clemens of Baltimore, Marcia (Edmund) Ludwig of DeRuyter, N.Y., Conrad (Andrea Gerlak) of Tucson, Ariz., and Andrea (Ian) Zuercher of Goshen; 20 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Darlis, in 1978 and her husband, Edgar, in 2006.
