Richard David Rice, 84, passed away on Nov. 11, 2023, at home following a prolonged illness.
Richard was born Aug. 6, 1939, in Seattle to Albert and Marsha Rice and was the eldest of 14 children.
He attended Holy Family School and graduated from O’Dea Catholic High School. After school, Richard answered the call of service to his country, enlisting in the U.S. Navy. A career Navy man, he proudly served 20 years as a corpsman. Richard traveled the world visiting locations like Japan, Thailand, Mexico, Panama and Singapore, to name just some.
Richard never married and never had any children. He found his calling on the family farm in Ryderwood, Washington, where he helped in all aspects of rural farming. During summers, he was known to venture to Alaska seeking work in canneries where he was trusted in bookkeeping and inventory control, among many other duties wherever he was needed.
Continuing his call to service, Richard was a volunteer firefighter in Ryderwood, always serving others. He was also very active in the Catholic church.
Richard is fondly remembered as having a love for his flock of chickens that no doubt gave him great happiness.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Joe, John and Steve, as well as his sister Barbara Comstock.
He is survived by his sister Theresa Rice, twin sisters Martha Murry and Lucy Wagner (Larry), sisters Mary Kimbrel (Mike), Angel Walls( James), Jacinta Blankinship (Michael) and Sharon Dailey (Mark), in addition to brothers Jim (MaryJo) and Dan, and many nieces and nephews.
Richard’s Celebration of Life will take place Dec.1 at St. Frances Catholic Church in Toledo following a Rosary at 10 a.m. and an 11 a.m. service. Burial will be held at the Vader Catholic Cemetery. There will be a potluck held at the church following the service for family and friends to gather and remember Richard.
