Robert E. Rice Sr.

Robert graduated from Sims High School in Union, South Carolina. He later joined the U.S. Army, and retired after 20 years of service.

On July 26, 1956, he married the love of his life, Mable E. Rice. They were married for 64 years until her passing in 2020.

After his retirement from the military, he attended college and received an associate’s degree, and later his dietician license. He worked for McMann’s Furniture Store, and later worked for Monterey Pines Skilled Nursing Facility in the kitchen until his retirement.

Robert was an active member of New Hope Baptist Church in Seaside, California where he served on the Deacon Board, the Male Chorus, and as Superintendent of Sunday School.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Mable E. Rice; daughter, Lola Caruthers; brother, J.C. Rice; and sisters Mae Browning, Ruthel Cobbs, and Katherine Smith. He leaves to cherish his memory: daughters Sharon Rice, Anita Sterling, and Kimley Rice; sons Thomas Roehrle, Robert E. Rice Jr., and Rodney Rice; his twin sister, Lela Pearl Gilliam of Staten Island, New York; sisters Juliet Rice of Staten Island and Myrtle Fuller of Cleveland, Ohio; and 19 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends that loved him dearly.