The phone rang early Sunday morning. Caller ID told me the Parental Units were calling. My mother and father are 89 and 90, respectively, so anytime they call early in the morning or very late at night, my heart skips a beat. As I said “hello”, I said a little prayer that all was okay with them.
My father’s gravelly voice greeted me with the news that Roy Rice had passed away on Saturday night.
Mr. Roy has been in pretty good health so his sudden passing was a shock. When one considers Roy Rice turned 102 years old this past August, though, each day has been a blessing for him and his loved ones for the better part of the last quarter century.
Roy Rice is one of several local icons whose voices have been silenced this year by eternity’s call. The obituary column overflows each week with the names of those whose legacies will be felt for years to come by their loved ones left to mourn and remember. Their lives are important because of the impact they had on their friends, families, and associates.
There are some, however, whose lives have intertwined with mine, whose contributions to our community will live on through institutions they founded, programs they created, and legends that will grow larger than the lives they lived while they were among us. We have lost many of our older generation, the children and grandchildren of the people who founded our town and built it into what could only itself have been titled an iconic representation of an early twentieth century industrial community.
The Greatest Generation is passing before our eyes and we are not acting fast enough to take advantage of their cache of wisdom. These folks are talking history books. They lived the events of which most of us can only read.
There are not many among us — or at least those who would admit — a lack of interest in the memories of those who lived World War II. Mr. Roy and his precious wife Ruth loved to tell the story about Roy during WWII. Seems he was stationed in California and was trying to get back home to visit his family. The band that had been playing on his base was packing up to head east when the band leader heard that Roy was trying to get home. He offered to let Roy ride along with them. The band leader was Glenn Miller.
Roy Rice was a local legend in the Winder Lions Club not unlike Glenn Miller in the world of music. Glenn Miller was taken in his prime at the height of his popularity. So was Mr. Roy. After all, how many centenarians do you know who show up week after week to sling hot dogs at the local Bingo game?
Mr. Roy was part of the heart and soul of the Winder Lions Club. Next to his wife Ruth and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Roy Rice loved the Winder Lions Club about as much as he loved life itself. His devotion to the efforts of the local organization inspired many younger men who had previously decided civic clubs were of no value to a community.
Until the November 8th death of his bride Ruth, Roy Rice seemed invincible. A serious heart surgery several years ago threatened his existence, but Mr. Roy and Miss Ruth fought valiantly to cheat death in an effort to spend more time together loving each other, their family and friends in their own inimitable way. When Miss Ruth’s health began failing a couple of years ago, Roy vowed to nurse her as long as he could and that he did. He could have used a caregiver himself, but shouldered forth to see to her every need. I can think of many much younger men who would not have the stamina of Roy Rice to be a daily caregiver.
When Miss Ruth passed last month, Roy Rice’s big ol’ heart was just too empty to keep going without the lifeblood of her presence every day.
He wanted to return to the Lions Club’s Bingo games, but the memory was too raw for Miss Ruth loved the Winder Lions every bit as much as Mr. Roy did.
Roy Rice was not a leader in terms of having served in office or chairing community groups beyond local Lions positions, but he was an icon in the things that makes life precious: loyalty, devotion, honesty, a strong Christian witness, love for his family, friends and country, and a great sense of humor.
His life was a celebration of all that we cherish.
Thank you, Mr. Roy, for a life well-lived.
Helen Person is a Winder resident and columnist for the Barrow Journal. You can reach her at helenperson@windstream.net.
