Marlin Joseph Rice

Marlin J. Rice, 89, Gardner, died on Friday, May 23, 2008, at St. Joseph Health Center, Kansas City, Mo. Graveside memorial services will be 3 p.m. Wednesday at Central Cemetery, south of Pomona. He was born April 16, 1919, to Clarence and Cynthia (Mitchell) Rice in Osage City. On June 17, 1940, he married Bonnie Louise Brock at Ottawa. She preceded him in death Oct. 28, 2006. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II from May 21, 1942, until Dec. 2, 1945, with Company C, 752nd Tank Battalion, attaining the rank of Technician Fifth Class. He received the Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Emblem, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three Bronze Stars, World War II Victory Medal with three Bronze Stars, Combat Infantryman Badge, Honorable Service Lapel Button World War II, Driver & Mechanic Badge with Driver 'W' Bar and a Purple Heart. He lived in Pomona from 1940 until he moved to Gardner in 1999. He worked 36 years as a carpenter for List & Clark Construction Company and Frisbie Bridge Company, retiring in 1981. Survivors include a son, Gary Rice, Gardner; two daughters, Judy K. Youngs, Yuma, Ariz., and Marla S. Sloop, Ottawa; a brother, William D. Rice, Orangevale, Calif.; seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Harold E. Rice; three sisters, Vera Rice, Edith Carter and Mary Welch; and a grandson, Chris Collins. He was cremated. Memorials may be made to the Crossroads Hospice or the Gardner Senior Center in care of Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory St., Ottawa, KS 66067. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through dengelmortuary@sbcglobal.net.