Rhonda Anne Wharton

Rhonda Anne Wharton took her well-deserved rest on August 25, 2026, after a lifetime of sharing love and kindness with everyone she encountered.

Rhonda was born to Jim and Rita Sturgeon on November 23, 1966, in China Lake, CA. After high school, she entered the workforce, spending most of her career working in the accounting field. When ill health forced an early retirement, she enjoyed caring for her husband, reading Dean Koontz, JD Robb, and Sandra Brown novels, cooking, and enjoying her favorite movies.

One otherwise ordinary workday in the early 1990s, Rhonda found herself in an elevator with her company’s mail processor, Mike Wharton. Her cheerful smile and joyful demeanor won Mike’s heart on the spot, and a beautiful and enduring relationship was off and running.

Rhonda fought valiantly to regain her health amid setbacks, pain, and multiple other challenges. Throughout even the most difficult times, her sunny smile and gentle optimism never wavered.

She is preceded in death by her stepdaughter, Kara Wharton, and her mother-in-law and father-in-law.

She is survived by her husband, her parents and stepmother, sister Michelle, brother-in-law Ritch Wharton and his wife Sandra, sister-in-law Kristin Hollis, nieces, nephews, and countless cherished friends.

A memorial service and celebration of Rhonda’s life will be announced at a later date.

“And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

I Corinthians 13:13