The Los Angeles Times of April 17th 1912 stated that he was a brother of E. D. Rood of El Centro, California. The Rocky Mountain News (Denver) of April 13th 1992 stated that he was the Vice President and General Manager of the Pacific Coast Creosoting Company. He had married Lean Stoiber of Denver in 1909.

The New York Times of April 29th 1912 stated that Mrs. Rood had arrived on board the German liner Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. It identified her husband's cabin on board the Titanic as A-32. Mrs. Rood originally came from Denver, her husband Seattle.
Mrs. Rood travelled to Halifax, Nova Scotia where the recovered bodies were being taken, and wired a description of her husband to one of the ships in hopes that it could identify him should the body be found. It was not, and afterwards she placed flowers on the graves of all the unidentified dead after their burial in Halifax. She also sent flowers to all the churches in the city holding memorial services