James E. Rhone, longtime teacher, vice principal, and church leader, has died at 87

James E. Rhone, 87, of Philadelphia, longtime teacher, popular vice principal, and tireless church leader, died Monday, May 1, of congestive heart failure at his home in West Mount Airy.

Affable, intellectual, religious, and especially drawn to students and young people, Mr. Rhone taught industrial arts for decades at Wanamaker, Fitzsimons, and Cooke Junior High Schools in the School District of Philadelphia. He was also vice principal at Cooke and stayed in touch with students and staff even after his retirement in 1992.

“He was a people person,” said his wife, Nan. “He loved being around young people, and he loved being young himself.”

Away from school, Mr. Rhone was a constant presence at Nazarene Baptist Church of Nicetown. He served as trustee board chairman, head of the department of Christian education, and president of its Nazarene Community Development Corporation.

He cofounded the church’s scholarship committee, taught Sunday school, and sang in the male chorus. “He was a peacemaker and a stabilizing rock in our church,” senior Pastor K. Marshall Williams Sr. said in an online tribute.

Beyond his church, Mr. Rhone served terms as president of the Citywide Trustees of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Baptist State Congress of Christian Education, and Eastern District Congress of Christian Education. As regional representative for Urban Ministries Inc., a Black-owned Christian media company, he conferred often with religious, business, and government leaders.

“In any and all facets of church life, Jim was integrally involved,” his family said in a tribute.

He made time to work with the Germantown Baptist Congress of Christian Education, Pennsylvania Federation of Bible Classes, and Pennsylvania Eastern District Congress Camping Foundation. In the neighborhood, he was two-time president of the Upper Wissahickon Civic Association.

“Mr. Rhone was the epitome of a Godly man,” a friend said in a Facebook tribute. “He was a steadfast and loyal individual who expressed love and care for others.” Other friends called him “a beautiful spirit” and an “encourager.”

James Elijah Rhone was born in Philadelphia on March 28, 1936. He grew up in Nicetown, went to the Second Baptist Church, and graduated from Simon Gratz High School.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Cheyney State Teacher’s College, now Cheyney University, and took graduate classes at Cheyney and Temple University. He worked in the school district from the late 1950s until his retirement.

He met Nan Rudd through mutual friends at church, and they married in 1971. “I knew right away he was a good man,” she said. They had daughter Nicole and son James, lived in East Mount Airy, and moved later to West Mount Airy.

Ever active and engaged, Mr. Rhone was an organizer. He arranged many family and church group outings and coordinated an elaborate four-family reunion for 50 of its 75 years.

He guided his daughter through Girl Scouts and walked with her at college graduation. They shared chicken sandwiches and strolled around on weekends in the Plymouth Meeting mall. “We were always together,” she said.

He took his son to amusement parks and cheered for him at wrestling matches. “He had a great personality,” his wife said. “His hobbies were young people and the church.”

Mr. Rhone was a member of the Rho chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and known by many for his wide smile and accommodating ways. People always called him, his wife said, because “he could do whatever needed to be done.”

Williams said: “Brother Rhone was an awesome man of God. He loved the Lord, his family, and the flock of God at Nazarene. … He will be greatly missed.”

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Rhone is survived by two grandsons and other relatives. A sister and brother died earlier.

A viewing is scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, May 12, at Nazarene Baptist Church, 3975 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19140. A celebration of life is to follow.

Donations in his name may be made to Whosoever Gospel Mission, Box 48308, Philadelphia, Pa. 19140.