James Harold Rice

James Harold Rice of Shepherdsville, Kentucky passed away peacefully at his home on March 8, 2023, at age 74.  His cause of death was congestive heart failure and kidney disease. In his last days, he was assisted by unbelievable nurses and caregivers that allowed him to stay home with his family. 

James (aka Jim/Jay/J.H.) was born in Nelsonville, KY on October 19, 1948.  He was a graduate of Shepherdsville High School. He attended Eastern Kentucky University and received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics (1971). During his junior year at EKU, he met his soulmate, Pat Goins.  On September 7, 1968, they were happily married, and were inseparable for 52 wonderful years.

Jay was the father of Tiffany Alicia (Mike) Gossett and Jason Christopher (Stacey) Rice, and had four wonderful grandchildren, Amy, and Alex (Ivory) Gossett and Matthew and Christopher Rice.  He was so proud of his grandchildren, and he looked forward to hearing about all their accomplishments. Jay was also a mentor to his nephew, Michael (Carrie) Rice. Family meant everything to him.

He is survived by his brothers, Larry (Connie) Rice and Randell (Deb) Rice, stepbrother, Richard (Elle) Rice, and many nieces and nephews. 

Jim, as he was known by his work colleagues, worked as a design engineer with Charles E. Cannell Construction from 1975 to 1982. In 1982, he joined Flynn Brothers as a part-owner and established their heavy construction division. He had the unique ability to look at a raw piece of ground and in his mind visualize what it would look like as a completed project and what he would need to build it. He was a mentor in the sitework construction engineering field, and many of those individuals he mentored went on to establish their own companies. Jim was a pioneer in the sitework construction industry in the Louisville area and was instrumental in countless developments including the Cedar Grove Business Park and the Parklands of Floyds Fork. 

Jay was a resident of Bullitt County for most of his life, and he felt the need to make his community a better place. As a result, he served on several boards and committees. He was the commissioner of the Kentucky Turnpike Water District, was a past president of the Engineers and Architects Club of Louisville and served on the Bullitt County Planning Commission. Jay donated books to local schools, helped high school and youth league teams, donated land for area parks, and helped preserve local landmarks. In addition to helping his own community, Jay also laid the foundation for the Fairdale High School heavy highway construction magnet program that helped train and employ thousands of local area students. 

Jay traveled extensively through six continents. His travels were often reminiscent of Indiana Jones. He climbed pyramids in the Yucatan peninsula that were still half buried by the jungle, explored chambers inside the Great Pyramid, flew over the Nazca Lines, watched the sunrise at Stonehenge, and traversed the mountains of Peru to see Machu Picchu. He and Pat instilled a love of travel and exploration in their children. Though they explored the world, some of Jay’s favorite travels were the ones he took with his family. Whether he was sailing the high seas of the Caribbean, exploring the ruins in Rome, or looking for aliens at Roswell, he enjoyed being with his children and grandchildren as they shared many adventures together. 

Jay loved sports of all kinds and was an outstanding athlete. He ran track for Eastern Kentucky University and competed in several races and half marathons. He played in several national softball tournaments. He was a 5.0 level tennis player who won several tournaments, including mixed doubles tournaments with his wife and father-son tournaments with his son, Jason. He played in basketball leagues with his coworkers at Flynn Brothers. He also competed at the national level in the over-50 men’s volleyball division. Jay really loved to go bass fishing on Barren River Lake and enjoyed the company of the friends he made there. When he wasn’t competing, he enjoyed watching sports. He was a die-hard University of Kentucky basketball and football fan who truly bled blue. Jay attended many games with Pat at Rupp Arena and traveled to many NCAA tournament games to watch the Cats. Go Big Blue!

His personality, intelligence, dry humor, quick wit, and tenacity will be deeply missed by his loving family, coworkers, friends and all who knew him. In remembrance of Jay’s contributions to the community, the family asks that charitable donations to be made to The Parklands of Floyds Fork, his favorite project.

Jay, our prayer is that Pat and your family are waiting to meet you with open arms and that your legacy of hard work, community service, and dedication to your family will live on for generations.