Dr. Laurence B. Rice died at his home on Thursday morning, March 22, 2018. He was born on Easter Sunday, April 21, 1935, to Herbert O. and Cynthia C. Rice in Champaign, Illinois, and received his early education at a two-room rural school. His subsequent education was completed at Champaign High School, the University of Illinois (B.S. in Engineering Physics), Clemson University (M.S. in Physics), and the University of Virginia (Ph.D. in Physics). As a high school student, he joined the U.S. Navy Reserve as an electronics technician, completing an eight-year enlistment. While a university student, he gained summer employment and experience at General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, and at the Naval Research Laboratory at Anacostia, DC.
After completing his doctorate in 1962, he began employment at the RCA Service Company at Patrick AFB, Florida, in support of the Air Force Eastern Test Range. His work there focused on improving radar tracking data analysis on the Range and on the USNS Arnold and the USNS Vandenburg tracking ships. In 1973 he joined Science Applications International Corporation in Huntsville where he initially worked on both the Ballistic and Concrete Early Warning Systems. He continued with SAIC in Huntsville and in Indianapolis, IN until his retirement.
In June of 1963 he married Barbara, his close friend and fellow graduate student, at the University of Virginia chapel. They are the parents of Cynthia (Steve Cunningham), Catherine (Frank Levy), Corey (Cherie), and Gordon (Sylvia) and grandparents of Emily Rice, Isabelle and Ryan Levy, and Zebulon and Audrey Rice. Larry and Barbara were avid independent travelers and took every opportunity to explore places new to them. In this process they visited six of the seven continents and all fifty states, generally with children or grandchildren accompanying them.
As father of a growing family Larry served as a church youth group leader and supported his children’s activities. He had a green thumb for horticulture, and began raising tropical plants, including coffee, palms, papayas, and orchids, while living in Florida, and continued this hobby in Huntsville with many more challenges. In retirement he was a member and past president of the Heart of Dixie Orchid Society, and an instructor and board member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UAH.
Funeral services will be held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Huntsville, on Monday, March 26 at 11:00, with visitation for one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Wabash Presbyterian Church, Allendale, IL.
Memorials may be made to the Huntsville Parkinson’s Support Group or to the Huntsville-Madison Public Library.
