Rodney A. Plomp

Rodney, 52, a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, and uncle passed away on June 17, 2020 and is now in heaven. He was born on February 7, 1968 to Paul and Sharon Plomp in Albuquerque, NM.

In a wheelchair from a young age, Rodney never thought of himself as limited. Growing up, he participated in many activities such as fishing, sailing, road racing, and wheelchair basketball. He was regularly seen zipping around the neighborhood, often giving one of his sisters a ride.

When he was 11 years old, he landed a role in the movie, A Shining Season, because he was the only kid who could do a wheelie. He proudly coached for the Duke City Dashers for four years, a city-wide track team for kids. Rodney graduated from TVI in Albuquerque with an Associate Degree in Business. He was employed in the insurance and property assessment industries and then, for 16 years, worked for AOL as a Systems Engineer and a Technical Manager.

Rodney was always ready to listen and never made folk feel judged. He was genuinely kind, even when he had no reason to be, and when he trusted you, it was onto the ends of the earth. He was dryly funny and clear eyed about himself and the world at large – sometimes people are kind and sometimes they aren’t, and he accepted that, laughing at what could be laughed at and shouldering the rest with acceptance and grace. He lost himself in music of all kinds and could quote lyrics, artists, and hum along to thousands of different tunes. He was stubborn, mostly for all the right reasons. The world lost a true light, but oh, how fortunate those that knew him were to get the gift of him.

He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Ellen Sizemore; his stepdaughter Ari Wellman (Rick); his parents; his sisters, Paula Worley and Virginia Packard (Derek); his nephew Joseph Packard, and nieces Naomi Packard and Erin Poppert (Tim).

In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to the Team USA Paralympics Fund.