ROBERT E. RICE
Tupelo - ROBERT EUGENE RICE, 80, died Monday, September 25, 2006, at home after an extended illness. He was born January 1, 1926, in Lonoke County, Ark. to the late Louis Ellsworth and Shellie Hicks Rice. A 1942 graduate of Lonoke High School, he then went on to The University of Arkansas where he graduated in 1948. He was a United States Navy veteran having served during World War II in the Pacific Theatre. He was retired from Tennessee Valley Authority after 34 years. He was a member of First United Methodist Church and the Wesley Fellowship Sunday School Class and served as past chairman of the Administrative Board. He was a volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program, a member of the Shepherd Center, and a past president of the TVA Retirees Assocation. He had also been a member of the Tupelo Symphony Board. Earlier in his life, he was an active volunteer in Scouting. He and his wife, Liz, enjoyed traveling extensively during his retirement.
Graveside services will be 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Tupelo Memorial Park, followed by a memorial service at 1 p.m. at First United Methodist Church with Rev. Andy Ray and Rev. John Sudduth officiating. W. E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.
Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Mary Elizabeth Moss (Liz) Rice of Tupelo; four children, Lynn Rice Audenaert and husband, William N. Audenaert of Madison, Ala., Robert E. (Rob) Rice, Jr., and wife, Linda Wells Rice, of Tupelo, William L. (Bill) Rice and wife, Ann Wofford Rice of Tupelo, Lee Rice Smith and husband, Albert E. Smith, Jr., of Summerville, S.C.; 11 grandchildren, Neal Audenaert and wife, Michelle, of College Station, Tex., Brian Audenaert of Madison, Ala., Drew Rice and wife, Elizabeth, of Jackson, Beth Ann and Lydia Rice of Tupelo, David, Marion, and Emma Rice of Tupelo, Bert, Sarah, and Mollie Smith of Summerville, S.C.; a sister, Betty Magie, of Cabot, Ark; and a brother, Bill Rice and wife, Lois, of Lonoke, Ark.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons and nephews.
Visitation will be 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to Meals on Wheels, 2800 W. Main St. Tupelo, MS 38801; The Shepherd Center, P.O. Box 1725, Tupelo, MS 38802; and Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, P.O. Box 474, Tupelo, MS 38802