Rodney D Landreth

Rod Landreth was born on June 12, 1971 in North LIttle Rock, Arkansas, to Stan and Barbara Landreth. He learned to read at a very young age, and his love of books stayed with him all his life.

As he grew older, he also developed a talent for writing. Reading led him to comic books, and to role-playing games, and to sci-fi movies, and to Doctor Who, and to Godzilla movies, and to any and all things geeky. He liked to refer to himself as a "seventeenth level geek."

A short time after high school, he joined the Arkansas Army National Guard, served as a personnel specialist, and was honorably discharged. In 1992, he moved from Little Rock to Kansas City. After some adventures in the city alone, he became friends with the upstairs neighbor, Brooke Heckathorn, which became a lifelong friendship. When Brooke and her husband, Jeff, gave birth to their son, Bryan, they named Rod as one of his Godparents.

During this period, Rod also felt called to Heathenry. His religion was an incredibly important part of his life. As he grew in his faith, he studied to become a priest (also called a Gothi), and was ordained in 1999. As a Gothi, he provided counseling to fellow Heathens, and he performed numerous weddings and a funeral. He was active in a national Heathen organization called The Troth, where he served as a Redesman (a member of the board of directors) and as Vice-Steersman, and was Coordinator of the organization's clergy training program. He was a big part of the formation of two Kindreds--Yggdrasil Springs and Jotuns Bane.

Late in 1999, Rod posted a picture and a profile to a dating site, and got a response from Jason Grothe. After a brief email courtship, they met, and almost immediatly decided they had something special. In 2001, they moved together to Lawrence, KS. They lived in or near Lawrence until 2012, when Rod graduated from the University of Kansas with his bachelor's degree. After the Supreme Court's decision in 2013, Rod and Jason married in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Around this time, Rod became a business analyst for D.H. Pace--a job he loved dearly. In 2015, after many lean years and tribulations--and just a few months before his death--Rod and Jason purchased their first house.

He died of a heart attack at his home in Olathe on July 18, 2015. He is survived by his husband, Jason Grothe; his mother, Barbara Stone; his grandmother ,Minnie Bullington; his aunt, Denise Stephens; his brother, John Tatum; John's wife, Amber Tatum; nieces Aubrianna and Alexandria Tatum and Natalie Grothe; and godson Bryan Heckathorn. He is predeceased by his grandfather, Carl Young