“I’m very very well,” said Dr. Beth Ann Fisher, recalling a familiar phrase that did not quite belong to her. “I caught myself saying that. It’s something Rodney used to say.”

Dr. Rodney Ashlock, professor of Bible, died on Aug. 1 at age 60. 

Fisher quoted Ashlock, saying that even on his bad days, his response to “How are you?” was, at minimum, “very well.”

His wife, Laura Ashlock, works for ACU as a legal services specialist in ACU’s Office of General Counsel. She said the “very well” mannerism stems from how he oriented his life around “shalom” – a Hebrew word meaning peace.

“It was his North Star,” she said.

In the same way he sought out shalom for himself, he wanted others to feel peace too.

“It is not our job to save or condemn, that is the Lord’s alone,” said Laura Ashlock, recounting one of Rodney Ashlock’s sayings. “We spend our lives enhancing or diminishing people’s sense of well being – you decide what kind of person you’re going to be.”

Laura Ashlock said that quote of her husband’s meant a lot to her. 

“By leaving the judgment to God,” she said, “it let’s you just be kind.”

On Wednesday, during the faculty presession, the Faculty Senate recognized Rodney Ashlock as the faculty of the year – an award that had been voted on in April.

Laura Ashlock also recieved an award. As she was called to accept her award she approached the stage, walking up in tall bright-red boots that Rodney Ashlock had bought for her in Wyoming.

“They were shopping and he saw that she totally lit up by those,” Fisher said. “That’s just another one of those examples of like, ‘I see that you value this, and so I value it too.”

In social settings, Ashlock was always thinking about others. Anytime someone could have felt left out, he was quick to loop them into the conversation, making them feel comfortable and even confident, Fisher said. 

“He would take the most mundane, little bit of humanity, knowledge or whatever and make the biggest deal out of it,” Fisher said, “because it’s somebody’s passion, and he would celebrate that.”

In the workplace, Ashlock was committed to learning, Fisher added. 

When Fisher came to work with him as a GA in graduate school, Ashlock made an effort to let Fisher know that he had a lot to learn from her.

“He was a lifelong learner in that way,” Fisher said.

Ashlock’s legacy impacted ACU and Abilene as a whole. His regional influence dates back to 1998 when he and his family settled in Abilene. Ashlock started his career as an ACU professor that year, teaching the Old Testament.

Starting in 2019, he served as the Chair of the Bible Department and then, in 2023, worked in the Adams Center as the Director of Faculty Development.

Outside of ACU, Ashlock served as a pulpit minister at Westgate Church of Christ. ACU alumna Loren Hamrick attended Westgate throughout college and asked Ashlock to officiate her wedding in 2003.

“We did a little premarital counseling with them,” Hamrick said. “[We] just thought he’d be the perfect person, so we asked him to do it 23 years ago.”

Hamrick said she adored Ashlock’s marriage.

“I just remember he and Laura just so kind and gentle – just very, very sweet people,” Hamrick said. “We were young college students and that was a great church to be at – very welcoming and they were just great examples.”

Ashlock served at Westgate for 21 years until 2020.

After Ashlock passed, his family asked that any memorial gifts be directed to the Volleyball Excellence Fund.

ACU volleyball players Annaleise Sevier and 

Avery Thaler said Ashlock and his wife consistently supported their program.

“After we read that the funds were requested to be sent to our program, my heart just melted,” said Sevier, junior management major from Aubrey. “They have made such an impact on each of us, even outside of volleyball.”

Thaler, junior biology major from Fairfield, also highlighted his positive influence.

“He was extremely joyful and his love for the Lord was contagious,” Thaler said. “He took time to learn each one of our names, where we were from and what our position was on the team. Him doing this made each one of us feel valued and seen.”

The Ashlocks hosted dinners for the team and loved to show up at the games, Thaler said. 

The volleyball program now wears Ashlock’s initials on the shoulder of their warmup jerseys.

As volleyball season kicks off and the fall semester begins, faculty, staff, students and athletes will miss Ashlock’s presence at ACU. 

Anyone wanting to support Ashlock’s legacy may donate to the  ACU Volleyball Excellence Fund as his family requested. The donations can be sent through mail to ACU Box 29132, Abilene, Texas 79699-9132 or through visiting  this link online: bit.ly/RodneyAshlock.