Submitted by: Margie Roop Pearce
South Bend Tribune (IN); May
01. 2006 6:59AM
Verena M. Rice May 12,
1914 - April 29, 2006
Lakeville, IN -
Verena Mae Rice, 91, of Lakeville, passed away at 1:18 p.m. on
Saturday, April 29, 2006, in Miller's Merry Manor, Walkerton.
Mrs. Rice was
born on May 12, 1914, in Decatur, Ind., to the late Milton and
Opal (Landis) Zimmerman. She had been a lifelong area resident.
On June 1, 1935, in Decatur, Ind., she married Benjamin Victor
Rice Sr. Verena and Benjamin were married for 69 years before he
passed away on December 10, 2004.
One daughter,
Sondra Annis; one son, Benjamin Rice Jr.; six sisters, Phyllis
Fairchild, Eileen Rice, Charlotte Worthman, Jenny McAlhaney,
Evelyn Arnold, and Janice Zimmerman; and four brothers, Walter, Avon,
Greg, and Jerry Zimmerman all preceded her in death.
Mrs. Rice was a
member of the Lakeside Baptist Church in Lakeville. She was a
wonderful homemaker. She, along with her husband, formerly owned
Rice's Greenhouse. She loved working in the greenhouse and
attending to her garden and flowers. Mrs. Rice never met a
stranger and wil l be missed by all who knew her.
Mrs. Rice is
survived by one daughter, Bonnie Kelley of Lakeville; three sons,
Roger (Pam) Rice of South Bend, Douglas (Pamela) Rice of
Walkerton, and Jeffrey (Trena) Rice of Bremen; daughter-in-law,
Audrey Rice of Lakeville; 25 grandchildren; 42
great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; and one
sister, Sue Waggoner of New Haven, Ind.
Funeral services
will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, 2006, in the Lakeside
Baptist Church, Lakeville. Rev. Vito Rulli, pastor, will
officiate. Graveside services and burial will follow at Southlawn
Cemetery, South Bend. Friends may visit with the family after 11
a.m. until time of services on Tuesday at the church. Palmer
Funeral Home, Lakeville, is assisting the family with funeral
arrangements.
Contributions in memory of
Verena Mae Rice may be donated to the Lakeside Baptist Church,
515 Michigan Trail, Lakeville, IN 46536.