Press Kit
John Rhea was raised in Rock Hill, SC, by politically active and community-minded parents. His mother, Betty Jo Rhea, served as the first female mayor of Rock Hill from 1986-1997. Known for her deep commitment to her community and signature style, in a Rock Hill Herald remembrance of Betty Jo, John said, “In our house, we always joked that the city of Rock Hill was like my mother’s fourth child. It was a maternal love, a deep caring for all people in the community. She loved Rock Hill and she loved its people.”
At 14-years-old Rhea dreamed of being a lawyer, but his love for fiction and the written word sidelined that ambition for a while. After a stint of bohemian living in New York City and New Orleans after graduating from Clemson University, Rhea attended and graduated from University of South Carolina School of Law. He worked as a criminal defense attorney and a partner in the firm of McKinney, Givens, Tucker and Rhea in South Carolina for more than two decades.
After retiring from law, he moved with his wife, artist May Rhea, to the mountains of Western North Carolina where they have access to the hiking, music, art, and food that Asheville and its surroundings have to offer, plus plenty of room to take in the rescue animals. “To say that my wife and I are animal lovers is something of an understatement,” Rhea says, “Years ago when we lived on a small farm in South Carolina, we had eight dogs, six cats, and four horses—my wife would discover a litter left on the side of the road or find a malnourished orphan by a dumpster or rescue a baby bird below her window. This gift for discovery is her superpower. In many ways, my domestic life has always revolved around the question of what new love interest my wife might be bringing home!”
When asked about his current animal status, Rhea says, “We are low right now with only three (two dogs and a cat). Sadly, all of our horses have now passed, but rest assured that they led very long, happy, and pampered lives. The last man standing was my horse Apache, who at the ripe age of 33 (old for a horse) enjoyed a senior romance with a feisty chestnut mare three years his senior. Some guys have all the luck.”
He continues, “Both of our dogs came from Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, where May has volunteered for many years. Mayder is a 70 pound mutt who looks exactly like Tramp from Lady and The Tramp. Our other dog, ZZ, is a little 9 pound hellion who likes to boss everyone in the house around, humans and animals alike. He’s half terrier, half chihuahua, which explains his inflated opinion of himself. Winston, our imperious black cat, is a foundling from South Carolina. As a five-week-old kitten trying to stay warm in wintertime, he climbed into the engine of my mother-in-law’s car at the CVS parking lot. He somehow survived the perilous mile-long journey from there to her home, where she finally heard his high-pitched screams.”
The photo of the storm moving over a South Carolina farm on the cover of Lifer was taken by May Rhea.
