Eileen C. Rice Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Eileen Cynthia Rice, age 89, passed away Wednesday, June 19, 2019, at the Ridge - Cottonwood, as a result of declining health due to dementia. She was born on July 02, 1929, in San Francisco, CA., the only child of Louis Patch and Cynthia Verde. Eileen grew up with a strong faith in the Catholic Church and attended Catholic schools.\r\nFor two years during high school, Eileen lived with Lowell and Edith Pitts in Price Utah, attending Norte Dame Catholic High School. During this time, Eileen grew close to the Verde family, who gave Eileen the comfort and compassion of a larger family unit. The Verde roots that were seeded in Carbon County grew strong and deep, sustaining Eileen throughout her life. Whenever asked where she considered home, Eileen never hesitated in her reply: "Carbon County, Utah."\r\nFollowing the divorce of her parents, Eileen's father, Louis Patch, married a widow, Nina Pacioni, and a second family bond was established. Eileen found great love in the belonging to each extended family. These family ties were the most important aspects of her life, as was her great faith.\r\nEileen married Lawrence Rice while living in San Francisco. They had one child, Lawrence Alan Rice, Jr. and lived in Corte Madera in Marin County until they divorced in 1963. Following the divorce, Eileen and her son relocated to San Francisco, where they lived with her mother, remaining with her until 2001, when Cynthia died of natural causes.\r\nEileen began her career working for a furniture store, Franklin Newman's, in San Francisco. She later began a long career with the United Sates Government, starting with the Department of The Treasury Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. In 1973, she applied for a transfer to the Internal Revenue Service in Salt Lake City, and continued her government service. She concluded her 25-year governmental career with the United States Courts Probation Department.\r\nFollowing her government retirement, Eileen began a long association with Kool Span Leisure in Murray, Utah. She retired from Kool Span after 12 years to be a caregiver to her mother for the remainder of Cynthia Patch's life.\r\nEileen is survived by her son, Lawrence Alan Rice Jr., her grandson, Andrew Louis, his wife Andria, daughters Carmen 1) and Shirley1) and her granddaughter, Jessica Lynn, her husband Alexander, and their 4 sons Joshua 10) Chad 1) Everett 1) and Xander 1). She is also survived by special nieces Suzanne Pitts, Eve Mary Verde, Kathleen Martinez and Tina Robbins, as well as numerous other relatives living in the Salt Lake and Carbon County areas.\r\nBeing a grandmother and great-grandmother was her greatest joy, and stories of her posterity were her favorites to tell . We will forever miss her wit, charm, and tenacity for life.\r\nEileen was preceded in death by her parents and daughter-in- law, Sandi Lean Meade.\r\nA vigil service will be held Tuesday, July 2, at 7 p.m., where friends may call between 6 - 7 p.m. at Neil O'Donnell & Sons Mortuary, 372 East 100 South, Salt Lake City. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in her honor on Wednesday, July 3, at 11 a.m.at Saint Ambrose Catholic Church - 1975 South 2300 East, Salt Lake City.\r\nIn lieu of flowers, it was Eileen's request that donations be sent to Best Friends Sanctuary, https://support.bestfriends.org