Lillis Marie Atkerson Rice

Lillis Marie Atkerson Rice, 89, of Bloomfield, Connecticut (formerly of Rossville, Georgia), died peacefully in hospice care at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford on Saturday, September 6, 2014, after a brief but valiant battle with congestive heart failure. She was born in Meigs County, Tennessee, on February 12, 1925, the daughter of the late Hugh Atkerson and Laura Tankersley Atkerson. Marie lived her entire life in Tennessee and North Georgia until her recent move to Connecticut to be near her daughter. She was known for her independent spirit, deep faith and strong work ethic, taking her first job with Turner Manufacturing Company when she was just a teenager. She went on to work in several Chattanooga dress shops before moving to the Knoxville area in the 1940s to work at the Knoxville/Oak Ridge Telephone Company. She also worked as one of the ""Girls of Atomic City,"" young women who worked at the highly classified Manhattan Project garrison in Oak Ridge. These women were crucial to the United States' war effort in World War II, as they helped to build the bombs that allowed America to achieve victory. She returned to Chattanooga in the early 1950s, working for Kleen-a-Matic and finally M & J Supermarkets. There she built a career and made lifelong friendships, working both in stores and in the business office for more than 30 years. Marie was formerly a member of the East Ridge Chapter 452 Order of the Eastern Star, and she attended East Ridge Baptist Church. For the last 25 years, Marie lived in Rossville, where her long-time neighbors became like family. She enjoyed sharing holidays with them and watching their children grow up, and she loved them as they loved her. She remained independent and active well into her eighties, and she especially enjoyed following local and national politics, news, and sports. She was a fan of the Yankees, Cubs, Titans, and Volunteers, and she'd recently become a big supporter of the UConn Huskies. Her final days were spent brightening the lives of all those she met in Connecticut, just as she had in Tennessee and Georgia. Marie is survived by her daughter Cheryl Rice and her partner Joe D'Ambrosio of Bloomfield, Connecticut; her sister Lucille Ewing and her husband Bill of Sale Creek, Tennessee; and many loving nieces, nephews, friends, and extended family members. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Fred, Ernest, and Earl Atkerson, and her sisters Cloa Ruth Atkerson Setliffe and Ruby Atkerson Crawley.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, September 10, from (4:00 until 7:00pm) at the D’Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel, 30 Carter St., East Hartford, CT 06118. At Marie's request, funeral services and burial will be private. To offer online condolences, please visit www.desopo.com.

Cheryl and Joe wish to thank everyone at St. Francis Hospital, particularly in the Congestive Heart Failure and Palliative Care units, as well as Masonicare Hospice, for their compassionate, expert care. Memorial donations may be made to the St. Francis Foundation, 95 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105.