Rhonda Huddleston Obituary

Rhonda Wright Huddleston, 72, passed away Monday, March 16, 2026, in Shelbyville.

Rhonda Jean Wright was born Friday, Nov. 13, 1953, to Robert Lawrence and Edna Ellis Dixon Wright. After that, her father always said Friday the 13th was his lucky day. She grew up in Elizabethtown with her three younger siblings, Stephanie, Marcia and Robbie, for whom she often acted as a second mother. Rhonda was active in her school and church, showing her sharp intelligence and interest in government and literature from an early age. She graduated from Elizabethtown High School in 1971 and then attended the University of Kentucky. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History in 1975 and then from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1977. Rhonda was part of one of the first law school classes to have an almost equal number of men and women and remained near the top of her class throughout her time there.

In 1979, she and her husband, Steve Huddleston, moved to Warsaw and set up their law practice. For the next 30 years, she provided personal and outstanding legal service to her clients. She was known for her wise advice, her attention to detail, her strong moral compass and her compassion. One of her passions was helping families prepare for end-of-life and protecting the assets her clients had worked so hard to build over a lifetime. She also wore many other hats during this time, including being a deacon, elder, treasurer and board president of Warsaw Christian Church; chairman of the Gallatin County Democratic Party; chairman of the library board, during which she facilitated the financing and building of a children's wing; a stint as Gallatin County clerk, during which time she oversaw the introduction and implementation of electronic voting machines; and an active participant in many other local organizations.

Throughout her career, she had a strong interest in banking and served as attorney to several local banks. This work led to her appointment as president of Community First Bank, then deputy commissioner at the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions. She ended her career as general counsel of Citizens Union Bank in Shelbyville, retiring at the end of 2019.

Although her career was obviously impressive, Rhonda's most important role was always "Mom." She said she lived by the Jackie O. quote, "If you mess up raising your children, nothing else really matters." Rhonda was completely devoted to her two daughters, Katie, born in 1986, and Caroline, born in 1991. No matter what she was doing, she would drop everything without hesitation to attend to her girls. She never missed a single recital, where she often did hair and makeup for everyone, or ball game, even during those seasons when the girls were permanent bench riders. She was constantly looking for ways to enrich their lives and no vacation to the beach was complete without a visit to a local college or art museum. She was their first and best friend.

In 2018, she became a grandmother to Sophia and then in 2020 to Ellie. She adored her girls and spent as much time with them as possible – playing silly games, going to the coffee shop and library, doing art and anything else they could come up with. When COVID hit, she turned her whole life over to providing childcare every day for the girls for more than a year. The girls loved their Nonnie so much and knew how much they were beloved in return.

There are so many more things that can be said about Rhonda – she was an artist, who created beautiful paintings throughout her life; music was a passion of hers and she was in numerous choirs throughout her life where she felt deep connection and was respected for her rich voice and ability to harmonize; she loved golf and was a huge fan of UK basketball; she was an avid reader, in retirement even reading hours a day at times; she was committed to following news and politics and was always keeping us all informed of the events of the day; but the one thing that most set Rhonda apart was that she genuinely cared about and was interested in other people. Whoever she was talking to became the most important person in the room and she would be sincerely enthusiastic and interested in whatever that person had to say. For this reason alone, she was universally beloved.

These words feel inadequate to convey the beauty and light of the life we have lost, but please know the reality was even more wonderful than we can put into words.

Rhonda was preceded in death by her beloved daughter, Caroline Atwood McMinn; her parents Robert and Edna Dixon Wright; her sister, Stephanie Wright Marlow; and her nephew, Joshua Lawrence Wright.

She leaves behind a multitude of family and friends who cherished her and mourn her loss: her daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Josh Berkley; her son-in-law and daughter-in-law, Josh and Ann Louise McMinn; and her three grandchildren, Jayden McMinn, Sophia Belle Berkley and Elizabeth Marie McMinn, all of Shelbyville; her former husband, Steve Huddleston of Warsaw; her sister and brother-in-law, Marcia and Mark Spilman, and brother and sister-in-law, Robert L. and Robin Wright, all of Elizabethtown; her eight nieces and nephews, Justin (Stacey) Brangers, Troy (Mallory) Wright, Jessica Knotts, Jason Combs, Jake (Lindsey) Wright, Matthew Spilman, Megan (Kris) Teague and Ashley (Will) Colon. She also had a host of great-nieces and great-nephews, whom she adored and took an active interest in. Lastly remaining are special friends, David and Eva Morgan and Mary Helen Huddleston Miller.

The funeral is at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 21, at First Presbyterian Church of Shelbyville.

Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and continues from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the church.

Donations in Rhonda's memory may be made to the First Presbyterian Church Music Ministry.

Shannon Funeral Home in Shelbyville is in charge of arrangements.