John Stephens Rice

Des Moines

John S. Rice, 87, passed away November 20, 2011 at Scottish Rite Park in Des Moines. He was born in Ames, Iowa on October 27, 1924 to Charles and Lola (Stephens) Rice.

John grew up in Ames and graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Architecture in 1948. He also served in the Air Force from 1943 to 1945. From 1948 to 1966 he was an architect with the Des Moines firm, Brook-Borg. In 1966, he was a founding partner in the firm John Stephens Rice Architect. Over the next 13 years the firm changed names several times as it grew and it designed several award winning buildings, including the Maucker Student Union at the University of Northern Iowa and the Barbican condominiums in Des Moines. John was appointed as a part-time associate professor of architecture at Iowa State University in 1967 and taught regularly until 2002. He formed a sole proprietorship, John Stephens Rice Architect, in 1979, which he maintained until 2002.

John served on the West Des Moines city council, 1967-1968. He received the Christian Petersen Design Award from Iowa State University in 1996 and the Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Education Award in 2005.

John is survived by his wife of 63 years, Marilee; sons, Tom (Ann) of Coralville and Dan of Ames; brother, Charles (Carol) of Solomons, Maryland; sister, Mary Jane (Leland) of Los Angeles, California and granddaughters, Katherine and Charlotte.

Per John’s wishes, his body was donated to Des Moines University and there will be no service. Memorial contributions may be directed to the College of Design, Architecture Program at Iowa State University or the Miller Fund at Scottish Rite Park.