Obituary of Clifford Nelson Rhodes II

Dr. Clifford Nelson Rhodes-II (Nelson Rhodes), age 52, died on December 10, 2016 at Duke Hospice at Hock Pavillion in Durham, NC. Dr. Rhodes was born on January 20, 1964 in Chinon, France to his father, Clifford N. Rhodes, and his mother, Vicki G. Williams Rhodes (deceased). Nelson went to Glade Valley High School in Sparta, NC. Upon completion of high school he earned his B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). On March 24, 2001, Nelson married Dr. Marian Lee Saxon, whom he met in Chapel Hill while both were postdoctoral fellows. Nelson was devoted to family and adored his daughters, Katie and Ella. He attended their school activities, soccer, basketball, and dance as often as possible. He was an avid UNC fan and attended many sporting events as a graduate student and while dating Marian in addition to watching games on TV at home or local outings with friends. He also enjoyed camping, fishing, and boating with friends and family and vacations to North Carolina's beaches and mountains. Nelson was a beloved member of Orange United Methodist Church (OUMC) where he will be greatly missed. Nelson was a committed scientist whose ethics and integrity earned him respect from everyone he worked with. He was curious and loved the search for answers to treat human disease whether he was working in the laboratory or on the computer. He was as comfortable working on a team as leading a team and was highly regarded not only for his scientific insight, but also for his humility and humor. His technical expertise included molecular and cellular biology as well as protein biochemistry. He worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at NIEHS on oncogenes and cell cycle control in cancer. He joined Glaxo Wellcome (GW) in 1996 as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Oncology Biology, investigating a role of the Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated protein in collaboration with investigators at Duke and Johns Hopkins. From 1998-2005, as a Research Investigator and Group Manager of Oncology Biology at GW and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), he was the biology leader for three oncology projects resulting in one candidate selection for testing in cancer patients. In 2005, he became manager in Clinical Pharmacology and Drug Metabolism at GSK and oversaw the implementation of a metabolic biomarker assay group. He received numerous awards for his work during his time at GW/GSK. He worked as a principal scientist at BioAgilytix Labs from 2008-2010 before joining Metabolon in 2011 where he assisted numerous large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in drug discovery and development programs through the use of metabolomics, leading to several substantial discoveries. Nelson was a great friend and coworker to many and will be greatly missed. Nelson was dearly loved by his family and is survived by his wife Dr. Marian Saxon Rhodes; his daughters Katherine Sara and Ella Vicki Rhodes; his father Clifford N. Rhodes (Peggy); his sister Lisa Moser (Craig); his nieces Jessica Templeton and Samantha Richmond; and his great-nephew Jacob Templeton. He is also survived by numerous "in-laws" and was greatly loved by Marian's family. The family wishes to thank Nelson's good friends who devoted many weekends visiting or caregiving, the Duke Hospice at Hock Pavilion and the SECU Hospice House in Smithfield, NC for their devotion and care, and OUMC for their continuous support and meals through his illness. The Rhodes family will receive family and friends for a visitation on Friday January 6, 2017 at Walker's Funeral Home in Chapel Hill (120 West Franklin St.) from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Memorial Services will be held at 1:00 PM at Orange United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill (1220 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd), in the fellowship hall, with a potluck reception to follow. Flowers are welcomed and appreciated or donations can be made to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (ALSA) at http://webnc.alsa.org/ or to the American Cancer Society (ACS) at http://www.cancer.org/. Online condolences may be sent to the Rhodes family by visiting www.Walkersfuneralservice.com.