Joseph Rice

Joseph Rice Junior also known as Junior but more widely known as Joe was born October 2, 1929 at Lake Benton, Minnesota. He was the only child of Joseph Eldridge Rice and Maudie May Mathis and weighed in at a whopping four pounds. His Mother had three girls and one son in previous marriages. In her later years she ended up caring for Joseph Eldridge until he passed away in 1969, then she passed away one year later.

Joe’s parents traveled across the United States and settled in Maple Valley, Washington where Joe graduated from Tahoma High School.

Joe worked at a fish house as an icer before he enlisted in the United States Army in 1948. After serving almost two years overseas in the Korean War as a Military Policeman, Corporal Joe Rice desired to leave the service and return home. Following his honorable discharge in 1952, Joe joined the Teamster Union and worked for the Seattle Transit for 6 years prior to becoming a semi-truck driver. Joe also worked for the Simmons Mattress Company for 22 years, then Spring Air and Seeley. After retiring he began working for the Western Washington Fair as a parking attendant.

Joe was married three times. He was married for five years to his first wife Jerry with whom he had two children, Joe and Kim. He was married for seven years to his second wife June and had two step children, David and Sandy. Joe has been married to his third wife Shirley for forty six years. Although Shirley had seven children, Joe raised her youngest as his own. Shirley’s children are Gayleen, Darleen, John, Daniel, Michael, David, and Cheryl. To date Joe has thirty one grandchildren, eighteen great grandchildren with one more on the way and one great, great grandchild.

Joe enjoyed camping, horseback riding, fishing, hunting, target practicing, playing cribbage and pinochle. He was a proud member of the National Rifle Association. He was a lifetime member of the Washington State Grange where he held many offices including Master of Steele Lake Highline Grange. He helped cook at Grange pancake breakfasts and he volunteered many times to help the Grange at the Grange rest area coffee stops and fireworks stands. He was a member of the “Let’s Roll em” camping club. He was a charter member of the Washington State Grange Pioneer camping club and served as Wagon Master several times and did his share of scouting for monthly campouts... He was a member of the Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman's Club where he served as Range Master.

Joe owned several horses in his lifetime starting at a very young age. The last horse he had named Comanche would crawl under the wood fence; he would also eat cherries and spit out the pits. Joe had two hunting dogs named Dixie and Trixie who joined him in many bird hunting trips. He also had several cats in his lifetime; Jimmy, Mama, Hissy, and Buddy. Joe had a soft heart for cats so he rescued three cats that were slated to be barn cats for Mike and Cheryl; Spot, Spider, and still with us today, Peanuts.

Joe had a wonderful sense of humor and he touched the hearts of so many people everywhere he went that he will be sorely missed.

Joe passed away December 23, 2012 at the age of eighty-three at Linden Grove Nursing Home in Puyallup where he had been since October.

A memorial service will be held at Steele Lake Highline Grange hall in Federal Way, Washington on December 30, 2012 at 1:30 PM, reception to follow. The Grange hall is located at 2902 S 298th St, Federal Way, WA 98003. He will be laid to rest on January 3, 2013 at 11:30 AM with military honors at the Tahoma National Cemetery located at 18600 Southeast 240th Street, Kent, WA 98042.

A truly kind, fun-loving man who was always there to help others.