Rhonda Kaye Wilson

Rhonda Kaye Wilson passed away on May 23, 2026, surrounded by family and friends. She died at Moffitt Cancer Hospital in Tampa, Florida. She had been battling stage four pancreatic cancer since October 2024. She fought the cancer valiantly with the best cancer doctors at Moffitt. She yearned to live another decade to be with her children and grandchildren. She was uplifted in spirit with two new grandbabies being born within the last year.

Rhonda was born in Wabash, IN, on September 29, 1962, to Jimmie Frushour and Janice Lewis. Her father, Jimmie, had died when Rhonda was a young child. Her mother, Janice, married Bob Straw, who adopted Rhonda and raised her as his daughter in Warren, IN. Rhonda graduated from Huntington North High School in 1980. She married her high school sweetheart, Rodney Wilson. They raised three children in the Huntington, IN area. They divorced in 2000. When her children were adults, she started a new adventure, moving to Raleigh, NC, for many years, and then to sunny Tampa, FL.

Rhonda was a believer in Jesus Christ. She was baptized in 2001 by Reverend Bill Barlow at Warren Wesleyan Church. She held on to her faith greatly all the way to her last breaths. She had a special relationship with Jesus in her final year and a half, having at least three near-death experiences and interacting with Jesus Christ in the supernatural spiritual realm. Jesus had pulled her through a dark tunnel and into a heavenly space with tall angels guarding a door at a giant white rock wall next to an angel holding the large book of life. She said heaven is bright and lighted directly by the presence of Yahweh and that Jesus goes by the name Yeshua Hamashiach. This experience occurred in January 2026 while in the ICU at Moffitt, and she said Jesus let her return to spend more time with her children. Also, in her final week alive, she had visions of Jesus and angels walking down a mountain, and she heard God's voice telling her He would always be with her.

Rhonda was creative and loved making art and crafts with wood, concrete, fabric, paint, and makeup. She loved gardening and tinkering in her backyard for hours with her grandson Theodore. She enjoyed doing art projects with her grandchildren. She was charming and social and enjoyed visiting with her neighbors and work colleagues. She is greatly missed.

She is survived by her three children and five grandchildren. Son, Jeremiah (Melissa) Wilson, and their children, Theodore and Beatrice. Son, Levi (Beth) Wilson, and their children, Piper, Nora, and Gwendolyn. Daughter, Nitra (Brandon) Palmer. Also surviving is her mother, Janice Lewis Swain.

Her cremated remains will be placed in a monument next to her maternal family members in Center Grove Cemetery in Wabash County, coordinated by Logan McDonald with McDonald Funeral Home in Wabash, IN. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at The LaFontaine Center in Huntington, IN, on July 23, 2026, from 4-7 PM.