In Tuesday October 30 2012, the Lord, with loving kindness and omnipotent wisdom, decided that it was time to pluck one of His most beautiful flowers from this earthly garden for His heavenly garden. Lona Rae Rhoades was born October 17, 1961, in Baltimore, MD. She was the older of two children born to Rudolph H. Jr. and Reella Rhoades. Lona receives her early education in Baltimore City Public Schools and graduated from Western High School in 1979. She began her college career at Howard University and received her Bachelor of Science degree in business Management from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a life-long learner, Lona received many professional certificates and awards and most recently received a certificate in Project Management. Lona, nurtured in a Christian home, developed an unwavering faith in god that sustained her throughout her life and illness. While a member at Rising Sun First Baptist Church. Lona's activities included Youth Advisor, Women's Day Choir, Education Committee, Voter Registration Drives, Courtesy Guild, and Drama and Outreach ministries. Lona later transferred her membership to New Psalmist Baptist Church where she and her daughter were active in the Drama ministry. Lon loved to fellowship with her church family. In 1997, Lona married Mamadou "Sam" Ba and from this union another beautiful flower blossomed, Rae'l Aissatou Ba. Lona strongly believed in teaching her daughter that she could do anything that she set her mind to and the impoortance of a good education. Rae'l is currently an Honor Roll student at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. Rae'l is also a member of the National Junior Honor Society and Thespian Society. Lona's career began as a collector at Citicorp Financial, developing expertise for managing call centers which led to progressive promotions. She designed and developed Customer Relationship Management CRM systems throughout her career. Lona had an entrepreneurial spirit that she carried to major corporations including; Solo Cup, The Matworks Company, LLC, Sears Holding Company and Brann/Snyder Communications, Inc., to name a few. She also launched her own business, BA International, a CRM consulting firm. Her most recent employment was with Kaiser Permanente where she served as a Team Manager of their National Call Center. In true "Lona" fashion, her ability to connect with people led to an outpouring of love and support from her colleagues during her illness even though she had only been with Kaiser for a short period of time. Lona had a zeal for life. She enjoyed people and all the good things life had to offer. Her passion and interests included; dancing, acting, lover of jazz, avid concert goer and active participant in political campaigns. Lona had a passion for cooking and each summer planted a huge vegetable garden in her backyard with squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, and peppers. Lona tried to feed a village with all of the vegetable from her garden. Even though Lona had many passions and interests, her fondest was playing pinochle with her family. For over 35 years she enjoyed getting together with her family o play pinochle. Lona loved pinochle so much that in 2008 she became a charter member of the Windsor Mill Chapter of the Pinocle Bugs Social and Civic Club Inc. Lona cherished family and friendships and was supportive in words and deeds and was always available for a friend in need. Lona had a contagious laugh that captivated everyone. Her legacy is reflected in her unconditional love, dedication to her family, rapport with people and passion to help others achieve their goals. Lona leaves to cherish her memory her precious daughter, Rae'l Ba; her loving and devoted parents, Rudolph H. Jr. and Raella; her beloved brother, Rudolph "Rudy" H. III; her dedicated sister-in-law, Collette; her nieces, Raina and Summer; an uncle, Willard Thompson; an aunt, Gloria Thompson; a cousin, Edmund "Champ" Lonesome; a group of Sisters and Brothers In-Love; and a host of relatives and friends.