Published: March 29, 2008 07:25 pm            

SONJA RODEN: Sheriff’s spouse has witty sense of humor

Married to Sheriff Tyler Roden for 18 years and the mother of two young children, Sonja Roden is anything but the stereotypical image of a politician’s spouse.

Independent.

Spunky.

Outspoken.

These words better define Sonja but still fail to capture the lively personality and witty sense of humor anyone who knows her understands.

“I was raised near White City. My dad’s in the construction business, and sometimes you’d find my sister and I out driving backhoes, pushing dirt around,” Roden said, laughing. “My sister, Valerie, had a better touch at it, but I did OK, too.”

Roden’s parents are Charles and Sue Reynolds; her dad owns R&W Construction near Hanceville. Sue Reynolds recently retired from Wallace State College, where she worked as a secretary.

“My dad is a firm believer in work, and as a child I thought I’d like to be a nurse. When I was in high school, students could work part of the school day, so one of our friends and a member of our church hired me to work in his medical practice. That’s when I really knew I wanted to be a nurse,” said Roden.

After high school she attended the University of Alabama at Huntsville and acquired her degree in nursing, then went to work at Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

“That’s my real calling, working in a cardiac unit. I miss that now that I’m not working,” she said.

During her time in college, a friend arranged a blind date with a young man who was a patrol deputy at the Cullman County Sheriff’s Department, Tyler Roden.

“We went out that one time, and I’d like to say it was love at first sight, but I was involved in college and he was involved in his work, so we didn’t go out again then,” she said.

Time passed, and she was helping at her dad’s construction office one day when they reconnected. At first they spoke on the phone, then began dating steadily. After about 18 months, an incident occurred which seemed to inspire a proposal from her boyfriend.

“Tyler was on patrol and stopped to help a woman who had a flat tire. She was driving a huge old tank of a car, and somehow when he was using a jack to change the tire, it slipped or something, and his arm was injured pretty badly. He ended up in the hospital, had to have surgery on his arm. A deputy was sent to inform me that he’d been injured, and of course, I was upset. But he got out of the hospital quickly, and one night soon after that, April Fool’s Day in fact,” she said, laughing, “we were planning to go out to eat dinner and he kept hesitating, just dawdling. I could see he was nervous about something, and finally he told me to sit down and then he actually got down on bended knee and proposed to me!”

“Well, I said yes of course, and we went to Olive Garden in Huntsville to celebrate,” Roden said. “We were engaged six months, then got married.”

Their first child, Mary Grace, was born seven years later and by that time Tyler Roden was sheriff of Cullman County.

“We never talked a lot about him entering politics, or running for sheriff, though of course, his dad was sheriff, too,” Roden said. “You hear tales of horror about in-laws, but I have to say I have always been accepted just like a daughter by mine. They’re truly wonderful people.”

Wendell Roden was sheriff three terms in the late 1970s and early ‘80s; he and his wife, Janet, have five sons. Retired now, Wendell and Janet live in the Goldridge community on a farm.

Roden continues, “I remember when Tyler told me about his decision. I’d been on third shift at Princeton and came home early one morning to find him studying a lot of paperwork on the kitchen table. He looked up and said, ‘I think I’ve decided to run for Sheriff.’”

She said, “I can’t say I was thrilled, because I realized the demands of public life would be hard, and I’d have to sometimes button my lips. But I knew Tyler would always do his best to honor the trust placed in him by the public.”

Roden says she had never liked being in front of a crowd — center stage — and having her picture taken but has adjusted to it somewhat over the years.

“I still have to struggle sometimes to deal with negative people, gossip and rumors, assumptions people make about me and us.”

She says the best aspect of their public life is when a person will approach them and say simply, “You’re doing a good job as sheriff.”

Roden said praise is usually in short supply in most public positions, and it helps immensely just hearing those words.

The frustrating aspects, she says, are about it being a 24/7 position, constant interruptions in family life, the danger inherent in law enforcement of any kind, the lack of privacy and the sacrifices families learn to accept. “It’s our life, and one we’ve chosen, but like any choice, there’s good and bad you must adjust to over the years.”

Asked if she thought their son, Sam, 9, aspires to a career in law enforcement, she said, “He does seem to have a serious interest in law enforcement, and sometimes he says since his grandpa and his dad have been sheriff, maybe he is expected to be, too. But I always tell him there are many different paths in the criminal justice system, and he should follow his own calling.”

She smiles, then says, “Now I do believe Mary Grace, 11, will want to be a nurse, but I always tell her the same thing about following her own calling.”

Due to a recent illness, Roden hasn’t been able to work as a surgical nurse in the past months but hopes to resume her career when possible. She has previously worked at CRMC in the Medical Day Surgery unit.

Tyler and Sonja Roden are members of First Methodist Church where she sometimes participates in the hand bell choir. Tyler Roden was elected in 2006 to a fourth term as Cullman County Sheriff.

        

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