William Rice

William Fred Rice, Jr, also known as Jake to family and Friends, departed from our lives on August 18, 2021. William was born on September 19, 1963, in Tulsa, OK. He was the only child of William Fred Rice and Caroline Meaghers Rice. He graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Education from Northeastern State University. He later received his Masters degree in Education Administration from Grand Canyon University. William taught high school math for more than 20 years.
William served in the U.S. Navy for 4 years active duty and 12 years in the reserves. He was particularly proud of the time he was stationed on the aircraft carrier USS John F Kennedy. He was a veteran of Desert Shield Desert Storm and Operation Iraq Freedom.
He was proceeded in death by his parents and by his son Thomas Matthew Rice. He is survived by his wife, Melanie Mowrer Rice, daughter Alexandrea Crawford Rodriquez, grandchildren Samuel, Jasmine, Sophia, and Vincent, and other family member Jeremy Crawford.
Graveside services will be held at Bloomfield Cemetery on Friday August 27th at 3 pm. Arrangements made by Farmington Funeral Home.