Rhonda Tousey, age 59, died Wednesday April 29, 2020 at the Anna John Resident Centered Care Community after a months-long battle with cancer. Rhonda was born in 1960 then raised in Green Bay by her mother Guinevere Molesworth.

Rhonda attended high school in Virginia and then worked for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon for nine years. She would return to the Green Bay area and attend the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Rhonda graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and received the Chancellor’s Medallion for campus and community leadership in the spring of 1995.

Children were Rhonda’s life purpose. She showered her own four with unconditional love and made every sacrifice for them. Despite any challenges the world posed, Rhonda ensured her children wanted for nothing. In the last four years, she delighted in lavishing her granddaughter with attention and affection.

She welcomed her children’s friends into the home with the same love and care, often a surrogate for those not lucky enough to have a mother like her. Professionally, Rhonda gave over 15 years of her life to the protection of strangers’ children as Assistant Director of Children and Family Services for the Oneida Tribe of Indians.

While working for Oneida, Rhonda was instrumental in re-writing a state law called the Wisconsin Children’s Code to include language from the Indian Child Welfare Act, protecting future generations of Native children. She also trained various counties and tribes throughout Wisconsin and was recognized as a qualified expert witness by the state.

Rhonda carried a Gold Star Mother’s Shawl at Pow Wows on behalf of her grandmother Georgia Tousey for many years. She also made a variety of traditional Pow Wow regalia by hand for her children and eventually for her grandchild. The outfits were handmade and included intricate, beautiful beadwork.

Rhonda is survived by her mother Guinevere; four children Steven Todd (Lindsey) Slack, Jamie Sparks, Jennifer (Kevin Kowalski) Sparks, and Zachary Tousey Pecore; and her two grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her grandparents Gearwin and Georgia Tousey, her uncles Gearwin and Mark Tousey, her aunt Donna Ferron, her cousins Wayne and Jeff Ferron and her stepfather Lou Molesworth.

A service will be held at Blaney Funeral Home on Saturday. Due to the current restrictions regarding the pandemic, the service will be limited to immediate family. Flowers or plants are welcome. Any donations will be put toward a future charitable gift in Rhonda’s name.