OCTOBER 26 – John B. Rice, 85, of Farmville, passed away Sunday, October 24, 2010 in Farmville.

Mr. Rice was born in Bridgeport, WV, August 28, 1925 to the late E. Brooks and Nora May Hoover Rice. He grew up on a farm in Randolph County, the second of 10 children. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force as an aerial gunnery instructor during WWII and was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Union Theological Seminary.

He was an enthusiastic football fan having played in high school and as a starting guard at Johns Hopkins.

As a Presbyterian Minister, he served churches in North Carolina, Norfolk, where he also served as Stated Clerk of Norfolk Presbytery, Williamsburg, College Church at Hampden-Sydney and in Miami. He was also a driving force in the development of the camping programs of Norfolk Presbytery and the former Blue Ridge Presbytery. After retirement, he returned to Farmville and conducted services at various area churches including Madisonville and Concord.

Mr. Rice was responsible for starting the FACES program. He also served on the Prince Edward County School Board, the Prince Edward Public School Endowment (PEPSE), was President of AARP and taught the 55 Alive program.

His hobbies included model trains, gardening, bird watching and golf.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Shirley Benson Rice of Farmville; daughter, Joanne Rice Coltrain (Mark) of Miami, FL; sons, Thomas E. Rice (Barbara) of Farmville and John B. Rice Jr. (Babette) of Swan Valley, ID; three grandchildren, Brooks Robert Rice, Caroline Benson Rice and Travis John Coltrain; four brothers, Richard, Joseph, William and David, and three sisters, Mary, Marjorie and Beverly.

A memorial service will be conducted at 4 p.m., Friday, October 29, at College Church, Hampden-Sydney.

The family requests donations be made to the FACES program or College Presbyterian Church.

Shorter Funeral Home, Farmville, is serving the family.

www.shorterfuneralhome.com