Michele Rice

She was born Michele N. Carbonella in the former Richmond Memorial Hospital, and graduated from Tottenville High School.

Her husband-to-be, Timothy Rice, fell in love with her at first sight, he said, but was shy about asking her for a date. When he saw her pumping gas at the Great Kills Service Station on Nelson Avenue, where the young woman was working, he mustered up the nerve to talk to her, only to learn she was going out of town on a trip. He persisted, however, and the couple fell in love and wed in St. Clare's R.C. Church in Great Kills. They celebrated their 30th anniversary in July.

After earning her bachelor's degree in textile design and application from the Fashion Institute of Tehnology in Manhattan, Mrs. Rice worked for several years as a textile designer in the fashion industry for high-fashion clients such as Ralph Lauren, Eileen Fisher and Macy's. She left the workplace to dedicate herself to her family.

In 1996, she took a position as an art teacher at St. Clare's School, where she worked until 2006.

Mrs. Rice was active in many school and community organizations, including the parents' associations of St. Clare's School and Xavier High School, Manhattan, the American Cancer Society, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, and the Great Kills Memorial Day Parade.

She doted on her sons. She loved gardening, needlework, painting and shopping. She had a gift for decorating and her advice was eagerly sought by friends. She was affectionately known as "the Italian Martha Stewart" for her entertaining and cooking skills. And she was, her husband said, "a highly evolved woman who could do anything."

"She also was a warrior throughout her illness," he said. "There was never a moment of 'woe is me.' Her resolve and determination in the face of a dire diagnosis comforted and encouraged her family and her many friends, as well as the cancer patients and online support groups with whom she regularly shared her experiences and hopes. I was blessed to have her in my life."

Mrs. Rice was a lifelong parishioner of St. Clare's Church.

Along with her husband, surviving are her sons, Andrew and Cole, and her brothers, Austin and Robert Carbonella.

The funeral will be Monday from the Casey-McCallum-Rice South Shore Funeral Home, Great Kills, with a mass at 12:15 p.m. in St. Clare's Church. Arrangements include cremation.