Rhonda Kaye Franklin Lampley

AIKEN, SC -- Rhonda Kaye Franklin Lampley, 52, of Aiken, South Carolina, transitioned from this temporary life into eternity on Thursday, September 2, 2010. Her soul was delivered into the Hands of the Lord at her residence, succumbing after an eighteen month struggle with cancer. Her parents were blessed with Rhonda’s birth on October 3rd, 1957 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Growing up in the Tampa Bay, Florida area, she loved the beach and the ocean. Raised and schooled in the Catholic religion, Rhonda converted to the Baptist faith in early adulthood. She was an artistically talented individual attending Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida and the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida majoring in elementary education. Prior to settling into her lifelong avocation as a wife and mother who loved decorating, Rhonda enjoyed working as a teacher of mentally challenged adults in the Tampa Bay Area and after marriage to the love of her life in 1982, briefly taught preschool in the CSRA. Rhonda’s hallmark on this life will always be the love and caring that she lavished on her family. She was very active in the schooling of each of her two children throughout their grade school years becoming a familiar presence in their schools. She very proudly attended her son’s 2008 graduation from the College of Charleston and recently saw her daughter off for the start of her junior year at the University of South Carolina. A maternal badge of honor that she carried to her final resting was the frequently received compliments on the respectful manners of her children. Rhonda believed that proper etiquette and social graces make a difference, had high standards that she instilled in both of them, and ensured them that those values would help carry them forward throughout their lives. In recent years she relocated her aging parents to Aiken where she saw to their care and well-being up until her demise. In recent months she cruised the Western Caribbean, absolutely enjoying the cool sea breezes and warm sun and calling it the vacation of a lifetime while at the same time planning the next step in her continued fight for life and another cruise. Rhonda was determined to continue living a full and fulfilling life while aggressively confronting this persistent disease. She chose to live out her life enjoying it with hopes of providing an example and encouragement for others. Rhonda is survived by her devoted husband of twenty-eight years, Charles, her son Charles (Chip) Jr., and her daughter Carla, Aiken; her parents, Charles and Gladys Franklin, Aiken,; her brother, Samuel Walter Anthony, St. Petersburg, FL, her sister, Dr. Bakhitah Abdul-Ra'uf, Blacksburg, VA; her father and mother-in-law Reverend and Mrs. Lewis Charles Lampley, Brundidge, AL, brothers-in-law Gregory Lampley, Ozark, AL, Tommy (Armanda) Lampley, St. Petersburg, FL, sisters-in-law Rene' (Meredith) Turner, Stockbridge, GA, Stephanie (Henry) Lincoln, McDonough, GA, Michelle Lampley, Raleigh, NC, Joy (Reginald) Fortson, Fairburn, GA, Cojuana Norman, Gainesville, FL, Angela (Andrew) Hazley, St. Petersburg, FL and many beloved aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home, 715 East Pine Log Road, Aiken, SC. The family will receive friends Monday evening from 6 to 8 PM at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Savannah River Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 3694, Aiken, SC 29802, an organization for which Rhonda advocated. Please visit the online guest register at www.shellhouseriversfuneralhome.com. SHELLHOUSE - RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Rhonda Kaye Franklin Lampley, please visit our flower store.