Raymond J. Rice

Raymond J. Rice, 87, passed away Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. He is survived by his brother, Patrick Rice and his wife Kay Rice; his sister, Catherine Rice and her husband Bill O’Leary; his six beloved daughters; Marian C. Rice and her husband Bob Aurigema; Loretta R. Dewey and her husband Morgan Dewey; Ginger Rengel and her husband Urs Rengel; Regina M. Rice; Dolores R. Gahan and her husband Thomas Gahan; Celeste C. Rice; his sixteen grandchildren, Anna, Trevor, Jabez, Danielle, Charles, Christopher, Casey, Emma, Haley, Augusta, Patrick, Shannon, Brigid, Jesse, Mairead and Devon; his former wife of 35 years, Roberta Lynch; his former wife of 10 years, Elsa Bekkala, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A celebration of Ray’s life was held at Our Lady of Fatima R.C. Church in Port Washington last Friday.
Ray was born in 1927 to Leo and Margaret Rice. His father was a World War I veteran that worked as an artist and surveyor. His mother was the moral anchor of the family. Ray spent the first years of his life in the Florida Everglades. In 1931, his family drove to NYC in a hurricane-battered 1926 Pontiac. In high school, Ray received exceptional test scores that earned him a scholarship to Columbia University. When he was 17, he joined the Navy and served for two years during World War II. In the Navy, Ray was a welterweight boxer that hit like a heavyweight. “I never fought a guy that gave me much trouble after three rounds.” Following the war, he returned to Columbia to finish his schooling in engineering.
In 1952, Ray married Roberta (“Bobbe”) Ranney and started a family In 1955, he bought a house
in Manhasset, New York and with the support of his wife, Bobbe, founded an Architectural Engineering and Planning Firm eventually called The Rice Partnership. The firm would go on to complete 2,000 design and construction projects. He and Bobbe raised six wonderful daughters
who respectively became a lawyer,
a teacher, a nurse, an actress, a doctor, and a physical therapist.
As a community leader, Ray was elected to represent the New York State 5th Senate District at the 1967 Constitutional Convention. In 1970, Ray ran for the U.S. House of Representatives with an affectionate slogan that would follow him later in life; “Mr. Rice is Very Nice.” In 1971, he bought the Green Mountain House, a destination Inn located in Vermont that he operated with his wife and daughters.
Ray retired in 2005 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies. He then traveled to Rome to pursue a Masters in Theology at Gregorian Pontifical University. His thesis on Sophia Perennis (Eternal Wisdom) explores various religions to prove the existence and value of an eternal moral law. His thesis committee was deeply impressed. One professor, Fr. Felix Koerner S.J., said, “Ray, your thesis was brilliant.” Ray continued his studies on the Internet over the next decade exploring topics on Neuroscience and the brain and the interplay with religion. He continued his love of travel and meeting strangers in trips to Syria, the Dominican Republic and, most recently, Florida.
Ray continued to box into his seventies and exercised regularly until the end of his life. For 10 years he was married to Elsa Bekkala, whom with he shared a passion for art and expression. In recent years, on his seasonal trips to Florida, he enjoyed spending time the Carol Jean “CJ” Simon who became a close and reliable friend.
Ray Rice was a larger-than-life figure who profoundly affected the lives of his family and friends. He had a constant drive for achievement. He had an undying appetite for knowledge and truth. He exhibited stubborn positivity and supreme generosity. His motto was, “I refuse to have a bad day.” He will be sorely missed but will always be loved.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be sent to Hermandad, Inc. (www.hermandad
.org), a charity Ray had been involved in for decades.