Families and friends continue to move forward as their lives abruptly stopped with the passing of two Mississippi State University students in December.
Two unrelated car accidents claimed the lives of senior mechanical engineering major Joseph “Joey” Patrick Rhodes on Dec. 27 and senior general business administration major Ashley Joy Stringfellow on Dec. 20.
Rhodes’ mother, Sheriee Townsend said her son’s No. 1 priority was being with friends and family.
“The more he gave to people, the more he received,” she said. “He lived a full life in the short amount of time he had with us.”
Mike Townsend, Rhodes’ father, said Rhodes was a kind, friendly and well-liked person who never met a stranger.
“There were about 500 to 600 people at the visitation,” Townsend said. “We had no clue our son had touched so many people.”
Senior aerospace engineering major Glenn Torres said he met Rhodes during the fraternity rush in August 2005.
“Joey was a deciding factor in my joining Alpha Tau Omega,” he said. “He struck me as a very outgoing and fun-loving person.”
Torres said the two spent a lot of time together during their first year because they shared several engineering classes and typically studied together.
“Even during the late nights of studying, when everyone was frustrated and tired, Joey always found a way to make us smile,” he said. “He was very smart and had only one semester left in his mechanical engineering degree.”
Though Rhodes loved outdoor activities, one of his hobbies was playing video games, Mike Townsend said.
“There are many memories that I have playing video games together,” he said. “Joey would learn all of the tricks about the video games and beat us.”
Two of Rhodes’ best friends, Blake Davis and Adam Haver, would come over to play sometimes, Mike Townsend said.
“Whenever they were around, Joey lit up like a light bulb,” he said. “They each made a strong impression on each other.”
Townsend said the most recent memory he has of them being together was when they were playing “Rock Band.”
“Blake and Adam were playing the guitar and Joey was playing the drums,” he said. “It was a picture that we didn’t take, but we wish that we had.”
Townsend said he considers it an honor to be called Rhodes’ father.
“The only bright spot in this tragedy is I know my son is in heaven with the Father, and we will see him again,” he said.
Meridian resident Ashley Stringfellow, passed away in Florida where she had recently completed an internship.
Stringfellow’s mother, Annie, said she was a very positive person and always had a big smile.
“If she put her mind to do something, then she did it,” she said. “She never took no for an answer.”
Brian Watkins, international business academic program director, said Stringfellow was one of the best and brightest.
“She was working toward a double degree in business and Spanish, and had recently completed a summer study program with our partner university in Spain,” he said. “She had been selected for a coveted internship with the Latin American division of Citi in Florida, working in the human resources area, and her supervisors had nothing but positive things to say about her.”
Watkins said he believed Stringfellow to be one of those people who contained an inner light and brought joy to those she met.
“Her vibrant personality, her infectious smile and her expectations of excellence both in herself and in others genuinely improved the world around her,” he said. “We are all diminished by her loss.”
Amy Payton, Stringfellow’s best friend, said she always spoke her mind.
“From our initial introduction in junior high school, through high school and college, she never held anything in – if she felt it, she said it,” she said. “I learned during the first stages of our friendship to not listen to the tone of voice in which she spoke but to the message within the quotations of what she said.”
During her time at MSU, Stringfellow was a devout member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. AKA advisor Linda Coats described Stringfellow as an outstanding young woman who touched her heart.
“When she was here for homecoming [visiting fellow sorority members], I was deeply touched by her expressions of love for the chapter members,” she said.
Coats said Stringfellow’s passing is a great loss to MSU and AKA.
“She possessed a tremendous love for helping people that would have strengthened the chapter’s community service efforts and our sisterhood,” she said.
The Lambda Eta Chapter of AKA will hold a memorial service for Stringfellow Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of Memories.