Honoring Rod Huntress
We are deeply saddened about the passing of Rod Huntress, a valued volunteer mediator and member of our community. Rod brought care, dedication, and compassion to his work, and his presence will be greatly missed.
We invited staff and volunteers to share any personal memories, stories, or reflections about Rod, here’s what they had to say:
Rod’s legacy endures as a caring colleague and friend with a deep devotion to peacemaking. I remember many great walks with him, some in the rain, discussing how to best serve people through mediation or support them in becoming mediators. – Beckey Sukovaty
Thank you for providing a space to share about Rod. What I appreciate about him and already miss- -the anchorman’s voice. -his laughter. -A man in contact with his feminine side; the humble gentleness and gracefulness about him. Memories of Rod sharing in group debriefings will live on. I sometimes quote him while facilitating mediations and will always give him the credit. Something learned from Rod: -The ‘It’s not about ewe’ idea – a pun-based mediation concept used by Brad Heckman to illustrate that a mediation is about empowering the parties to talk it out and not about the mediator’s ego. Funny to see a sign with a sheep crossed over if a mediation conversation upsets me! Here’s a link to the video Rod shared with me. Fly high Rod! See you soon and many Gracias! -Teresita
I first met Rod when I was a volunteer mediator in the DRC small claims court program in 2018. Co-mediating with Rod was a rare experience. He had a way of bringing his whole self to the mediation and communicating safety that allowed parties to be vulnerable. What happened in the room could appear magical. I value the experiences that I had to co-mediate with him and they now seem like there were too few. Rod was involved in training and co-mediating with several generations of new mediators at the DRC and I know I am not the only one who will continue to be influenced by his care and attention to the practice of mediation. Rod cared about his fellow mediators and co-workers at the DRC. He was dedicated to mediation, to the mission of the DRC and to the professional development of the mediation community. During the period of post-Covid recovery, I had the opportunity to serve as manager of the DRC SCC program. It often felt like a daunting task, dealing with case backlogs from extended court closures and rebuilding the volunteer mediator community which had been on hiatus during the covid shutdown. I warmly remember Rod as a consistent steady support during that time. Rod was compassionate, thoughtful, funny and humble, and because of these characteristics you could often forget about just how smart he was. He was incredibly smart though too, and he used all of his skills consistently over many years for the betterment of the DRC community. He is greatly missed.
I only met Rod once, while I was training a mediator. I remember expressing some apprehension about conducting a mediation, even though I’d have a learning guide off‑screen to support me. Rod told me something along the lines of, “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.” It was a simple reassurance —the kind anyone might offer—but the way he said it felt genuinely comforting. Hearing colleagues reflect on how Rod handled mediations, it’s clear he had a remarkable ability to offer the right words at the right moment, both professionally and personally. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to know him better, but even from that brief interaction, I understand why his presence at the KCDRC continues to shine so brightly.
I first met Rod when he volunteered to help on a grant application. He said that we were not ready to apply when we did not gather all the necessary information by the application date. This set us up with material for a future successful grant application. I was grateful for his realistic matter of fact assessment, not finding fault, just saying conditions weren’t ready.
I sat in many circles with Rod. When he shared, I heard a different take on the question, personal and intriguing. His perspective often connected things that I did not initially find related. I found myself anticipating his turn with the talking piece, eager to have my mind stretched.
Rod’s deep sonorous voice carried import and reassured.