James E. Trice

He was born on February 21, 1932 in Hollywood, FL to John J. Trice Jr., a dairyman, and Jessie Trice (nee Morris), and was raised with three brothers and a sister.

He attended Broward County public schools and was voted class president and student council president his senior year. In 1949, he also quarterbacked the South Broward High School Bulldogs to their first Gulfstream Football Conference Championship victory in history and a 27-0 win over Deland High School in the second annual Citrus Bowl game.

He attended the University of Florida, Gainesville on a ROTC scholarship. In 1952, he met Nancy Ann Williams of Huntington, West Virginia, newly moved to Hollywood, Florida with her family, and they married in 1954.

Upon college graduation, he served as a Captain in the United States Air Force, piloting B-25 bomber airplanes. His duties included flying planes filled with airmen learning to navigate. Many a time, he would have to pilot the plane unexpectedly to the ground due to unforeseen circumstances, including losing an engine over the Gulf of Mexico and flying in an undetectable rain squall over Kansas.

In 1958, he joined the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) as a customer service representative in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Over the course of his 35-year career, he achieved the title of Control Branch Manager of the Mid-Atlantic Region. The company moved him with his wife and their 5 children from Hollywood, FL to Tampa, FL to Miami, FL to New York, NY to Pittsburgh, PA to San Francisco, CA to Detroit, MI to Baltimore, MD. He has resided in Baltimore with his wife since 1983.

As Control Branch Manager of the Mid-Atlantic, he forged close bonds with the General Motors auto dealers in the region who were running locally-owned, multi-generational businesses. He also mentored many young people within the corporation who had newly graduated from local universities.

Jim was the first person in his family to graduate from college. He and Nancy were most proud of being able to provide college educations for their 5 children. Upon this writing, 13 of their 16 grandchildren have graduated from college and the final three are scheduled for graduation in the near future. Three of the grandchildren have earned post-graduate degrees including two Doctors of Pharmacy and one Juris Doctor (JD).

Jim and Nancy were founding members of Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church in Parkton, MD and later worshipped at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Cockeysville, MD. With vivid memories of growing up during the Great Depression, they supported many charitable organizations throughout their lives including the United Way, various Indigenous Peoples and Native-led nonprofits, the Purple Heart Foundation and Baltimore County food pantries.

Jim is predeceased by Nancy, his beloved wife of 65 years who died in April of 2020. He is survived by children James Edward (Stephanie) Trice, Elizabeth (Ron) Van Boxtel, Karen (Art) Bacci, Cynthia (Andrew) Gee, and Patricia (Matt) Moore and by 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Services will be private at the convenience of the family.