Willard C. Rhoads owned a registered Hereford ranch on Rattlesnake Creek west of Cody, Wyoming. He was a member of the State House of Representatives from Park County and served as chairman of the Ways and Means committee. He served on the National Commission on Water Quality’s Colorado River Advisory Study Group in 1975 which was formed to assess the impact of the Water Pollution Control Act on the Colorado River Basin. He later became commissioner of Division 3 of the Wyoming Water Development Commission, which was established in 1979 to implement the Wyoming Water Development Program and to conduct water and related resource planning. He was appointed by Wyoming Governor Stan Hathaway to serve on the Western States Water Council, an organization consisting of representatives appointed by the governors of 18 western states to accomplish effective cooperation in the conservation, development, and management of water resources. In 1985 he was asked by Governor Ed Herschler to serve on the Research Review and Priorities Committee of the Wyoming Water Resources Center (WWRC).
Rhoads was married to Elaine Neville in 1935. He was a strong proponent for water research at the University of Wyoming. After his death in 1986, a scholarship was established in his honor for use in furthering graduate research on Wyoming’s water resources.
From the guide to the Willard C. Rhoads papers, 1917-1988, 1968-1988, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)
