William "Bill" Rhodes

GOODYEAR VILLAGE - William Roy "Bill" Rhodes, 84, of Goodyear Village, formerly governor of the Gila River Indian Community, died on Dec. 28, 2017, at home.

Gov. Rhodes will lie in state from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5, the Community Council Chambers, Gila River Governance Center in Sacaton. Funeral at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at Goodyear Presbyterian Church in Goodyear Village. Burial in Snaketown Cemetery.

He was born on Feb. 9, 1933, in Phoenix and was a son of Virginia Rhodes. He began his career with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and later moved to the Gila River Police Department. He was the first Native American deputy sheriff with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, from 1965 to 1968. Throughout the years, he served on many boards and volunteer organizations. He was an elder with Goodyear Presbyterian Church and served on the Committee on Native American Ministries for many years.

He served the Gila River Indian Community for over 40 years at various times in all three branches of the tribal government. He was chief judge of the Gila River Indian Community Court for 25 years during the 1970s and '80s. During that formative period for tribal courts, he worked with such organizations as the National Indian Court Judges Association to provide leadership to his own community and to other tribal communities seeking to develop their own tribal courts. Thereafter, he was elected lieutenant governor and then was elected as council representative from District 4, where he served three terms. He returned to the court when he was again elected as chief judge. During his most recent tenure, the court modernized its facility and procedures to reflect the changing times and increasing caseload and also increased the number of elected judges to deal with the increasing number of court cases.

In 2006, he was elected tribal governor. He was re-elected to a second term and served until his retirement. He continued to remain active in family, church and community activities.

He is survived by his wife, Ruby; a son, Patrick Rhodes and nine other adult children; 32 grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; and several great-great-grandchildren.

J. Warren Funeral Services, Cole & Maud The Gardens Chapel in charge of arrangements.