JOHN L. RICE

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JOHN RICE Obituary

John L. Rice, age 92, United States Marine Corps, World War II veteran with tours in Guadalcanal and Peleliu in the South Pacific. Beloved husband of Isabelle (nee Wigmore) for 72 years; loving father of Susan (George) Keeley; proud grandfather of Brian (Paige) and Will (Vanessa) Keeley; elated great-grandfather of Maeve, George, Sean and Quinn; fond uncle of many in the Ohio branch. John played semi-pro baseball in Chicago and became an American League umpire in 1955. He worked several All Star Games and four World Series including the 1959 Chicago White Sox bid. John was inducted into the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and he was a past President of the Pitch and Hit Club and the Old Timers Baseball Association. In the off season, John worked for the Chicago Water Reclamation District and retired at age 80. Visitation Saturday morning, Jan. 8, 10 a.m. to 12 Noon at St. Bride Catholic Church, 7811 S. Coles Ave., Chicago, IL 60649 (773-731-8822) Mass of The Resurrection at 12 Noon. Private Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Bride Church. Information: Heeney-Laughlin Funeral Directors, 708-636-5500

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Published by Chicago Tribune from Jan. 5 to Jan. 6, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for JOHN RICE

14 Entries

Tom McCarthy

September 6, 2011

So sorry to just hear about your loss. John and my my dad umped in the minors together for a few years...John was the best man and my mom & dads wedding too.(Thomas & Laverne McCarthy)

It was many years later that John and Isabelle attended my folks' 40th wedding anniv.

May he rest in peace...and I am sure John and my dad are sharing some hilarious baseball stories!!

May 21, 2011

My father was a Marine in the South Pacific in WWII and John shared conversations about those times. What an opportunity as a colleague to learn about baseball from his insight.... I have only today learned of his passing and know there is a tremendous void in your family...my prayers and thoughts are with you.

ALLEN ANTHONY

January 27, 2011

We wish to offer our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the immediate family, all other relatives, major league baseball umpires and baseball associates, along with many lifelong friends of JOHN LaCLAIRE RICE upon his departure from the scene ...

During his entire professional umpiring career he was looked upon as being one of the very best of his era, was highly respected and appreciated by players, coaches and management alike ...

The name of JOHN RICE shall be remembered forever by the many of us who knew and met him over time ...

SEMPER FIDELIS

COLONEL77

Michael Green

January 23, 2011

I did not know Mr. Rice, but I have been studying the history of major league umpires and know that he was a most distinguished member of that profession. I hope that his long, well-lived life helps compensate for your sense of loss.

Carol Olsen

January 7, 2011

Please accept my sincere condolences. John was Chief Deputy and a trusted friend of my father for many years. He will be remembered fondly.

Jim Berent

January 7, 2011

Following is the official transcript of the passage of the resolution I prepared for the Board of the MWRD and associated commentary which I would like to share at this time.
Every word is as true today as it was in 1998.

"BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION DISTRICT
OF GREATER CHICAGO
* * * *
Board Room
100 East Erie Street
Chicago, Illinois
* * * *
~hursday, April 16, 1998
.
10:05 o'clock a.m.
11:25 o'clock a.m.
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
16
1 PRESIDENT O'BRIEN: Thank you.
2 (Applause.)
3 continue on, madame clerk.
4 THE CLERK: Resolution sponsored by
5 Commissioner Harry "Busn Yourell.
6 "WHEREAS, John L. Rice is about to retire
7 after 25 years of public service, the last nine
8 years as Administrative Assistant to Commissioner
9 Harry "Busn Yourell; and
10 "WHEREAS, a native of chicago's South Side,
11 Mr. Rice attended Hyde Park High School, where he
~~
/ 12 first honed his ability to call them like he saw
-
13 them; and
14 "WHEREAS, he served with distinction and valor
15 with the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to
16 1946; and
17 "WHEREAS, Mr. Rice attended school" on the G.I.
18 Bill and worked his way up through the minors to
-
19 become an American League Umpire from 1955 through
20 the 1993 season~ and
21 "WHEREAS, Mr. Rice was selected to work as an
22 umpire in the last World Series to feature a
23 Chicago team in 1959, again in 1963 and 1966, and
24 for the fourth time in the 1971 Series which
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
17
1 featured the first night game in Fall Classic
2 history; and
3 "WHEREAS, Mr. Rice served with the Cook County
4 Recorder of Deeds Office for 19 years, ten years as
5 the Chief Deputy Recorder and one month as the
6 Recorder of Deeds; and
7 "WHEREAS, Mr. Rice and Commissioner Yourell
8 have been friends since the 1930's; and
9 "WHEREAS, Mr. Rice has worked together with
10 commissioner Yourell for over 16 years not as an
11 employee, but as a trusted and reliable colleague
.- - 12 ~ and associate never afraid to say what's fair (or
13 foul), and whose friendship and counsel will always
14 be cherishedi and
15 "WHEREAS, Mr. Rice could tell you about the
16 time he ejected Billy Martin from a ball game, and
.
17 then go on to answer any question you may have
18 about the wor~ings or procedure of any office he
19 worked ini and
20 "WHEREAS, M~. Rice is a devoted husband,
21 father, and grandfather as well as friend to
22 legions of baseball fans and visitors to his
23 officei and
24 "WHEREAS, the contributions of Mr. Rice to the
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
18
)
1 District and the community at large will be
2 appreciated for generations to come.
3 "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the
4 Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water
5 Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf
6 of ourselves and our staff, express our respect and
7 appreciation to John L. Rice for his years of
8 outstanding service to the residents of the
9 District and the united States of America and
10 baseball fans everywhere; and
,-~ 11 "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we wish to
.,~
,."
,,~
12 extend our heart-felt congratulations to Mr. Rice
:.'
13 upon his retirement from service with the District
14 and that we extend our best wishes to John for a
15 long and pleasurable retirement in which he and his
16 loving wife, Isabelle, will have the opportunity to
17 pursue their varied interests with the{r daughter
18 and two grandsons; and
.
19 "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, ~hat this resolution
20 be spread upon ~he permanent Record of Proceedings
21 of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan
22 Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and
23 that a copy of same, suitably engrossed, be
24 presented to John L. Rice.
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
, ,
19
1 "Dated this 16th day of April, 1998. w
2 Sponsored by Commissioner Harry "Bus W
3 Yourell.
4 PRESIDENT O'BRIEN: Is there a motion?
5 COMMISSIONER YOURELL: So moved.
6 COMMISSIONER MEANY: Second.
7 PRESIDENT O'BRIEN: All those in favor say, aye.
8 (Chorus of ayes.)
9 All those opposed.
10 (No response.)
11 Hearing none, so ordered.
12 Commissioner Yourell, would you come
13 forward, please. John, would you step up, please.
14 (Applause.)
15 COMMISSIONER YOURELL: Thank you very much.
16 Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you quite
.
17 frankly that John never made a bad call. I used to
18 see him at Comiskey Park and go there specifically
19 to see John calla game, and particularly if he was
20 third base. An~ if you don't believe he was the
21 most honest umpire that ever worked that game, you
22 can see that just in the last year, he started to
23 wear glasses.
24 (Laughter.)
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
20
1 John and I go back, as the resolution
2 indicated, to the 1930's. We both lived at 67th
3 and Maryland in the City of Chicago, I on one
4 corner, and John on the other. I lived on the
5 second floor, and every once in a while, I would
6 get teed off at home, and I would climb out the
7 window and down the side of the building, and John
8 used to stand there and laugh at me and tell me,
9 "you better go up there or your mother is going to
10 beat the hell out of youw
•
11 So at any rate, we come from the Tom Mix
12 and Gene Autry era and some of those other great
13 people who lived in the 30's and 40's.
14 John is a little bit older than I am, and
15 you can see that, I guess.
16 (Laughter.) ..
17 And so he's got a lot of memories and a
18 lot of things~to tell you, I suppose, and if you
.
19 want to stop at the office--:that' s the only
20 trouble with John. He never gets any work done
21 some days because people are in there asking him
22 about this ball game, this World Series and this
23 All Start Game and so forth.
24 But John has been a dear frierid, and not
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
21
1 only as a colleague, but a friend for many many
2 years.
3 I was the Recorder of Deeds for quite some
4 years, and John was the technical expert, the
5 Deputy Recorder in my office, and I used to deal
6 with administrative things that didn't mean too
7 much, but if we really had a serious problem in the
8 Recorder's Office, I used to send them next door to
9 John, and John always satisfied their needs and
10 their demands. And so it's not as a colleague or a
11 member of my office staff that I regret John's
{:: .~ ~ ~:I 12 retirement, but I regret his retirement because it
-,'
13 might be an end of an era going back to the 1930's.
14 But John will make several appearances in
15 our office from time to time. I'm sure of that
16 because you aren't going to keep him out of here no
.
17 matter how hard you try. But John has-been my dear
18 friend, and I:~egret his leaving, but cherish his
19 friendship for many many years. How many years --
20 60 years, I gue~s.
21 We were kids 10, 12, 9 years old together.
22 So we go back a long way.
23 Again, John never made a bad call. Thank
24 you very much. Congratulations, John.
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
22
1 (Presentation of resolution to Mr. John
2 L. Rice by Commissioner Harry "Bus"
3 Yourell.)
4 (Applause.)
5 MR. JOHN L. RICE: Thank you.
6 COMMISSIONER YOURELL: Call them as you see
7 them, John.
8 MR. RICE: President o'Brien, Superintendent
9 McMillan, members of the Board, ladies and
10 gentlemen:
11 I am not going to say much. I want to say
12 that the past nine years that I have been here, I
13 have met the finest group of people I have ever
14 worked with really and truly. Thanks a million.
15 As Bus said, I won't be around long, but I
16 hope to be back and see you several times. Thank
17 you very much.
18 (Applause.)
.
19 COMMISSIONER YOURELL: Doesn't he look like
20 an umpire?
21 PRESIDENT O'BRIEN: Did you ever have to
22 through anybody out of your office, John?
23 COMMISSIONER YOURELL: Me, Yourell.
24 (Applause.)
LEON M. GOLDING & ASSOCIATES, LTD.
23
1 PRESIDENT O'BRIEN: continue on, madame
2 clerk.
3 COMMISSIONER MAJEWSKI: Mr. President.
4 PRESIDENT O'BRIEN: Yes.
5 COMMISSIONER MAJEWSKI: I think that we
6 should give him the Distinguished Service Medal.
7 (Laughter. )
8 Bus Yourell is my dear friend, and I love
9 him dearly.
10 COMMISSIONER YOURELL: Is that a motion,
.,~ 11 commissioner? .,~
~", ...
,'"
."'" 12 COMMISSIONER MAJEWSKI: Yes, it is.
13 COMMISSIONER YOURELL: I second. I will
14 second it.
15 (Laughter. )"

January 6, 2011

Dear Susan and Family: Please accept my sympathy on the loss of your dear dad. I was lucky to get to know him when he worked at the Water Reclamation District. He was a perfect gentleman and a delightful colleague. May he rest in peace.
Peggy (Nealis) Bradley

betsy and bud ruel

January 6, 2011

Tom Brokaw coined the phrase,and, your Dad was the best example of "The Greatest Generation"John served his county,God,and, family with unflinching loyalty,and, devotion.We are humbled,and, proud to have had John as part of our lives.

January 6, 2011

My deepest sympathy and prayers to Isabelle and her family. May John rest in peace.
Carole Palmore (St. Bride)

January 6, 2011

Susan,George and family,Uncle John will be greatley missed as he was one of a kind.Our prayers and sympathy to all of you.
Gary & Lynn Everhart

Lynn Everhart

January 6, 2011

Susan,George and family,Uncle John will be greatly missed as he was one of a kind.
Gary & Lynn Everhart

Fr. Bob Roll

January 6, 2011

Everyone at St. Bride Parish offers our prayers and sympathy to Isabelle and her family on the passing of John. Know too, that we will be here for you in the days to come. May John rest in peace!

Chuck Fabing

January 5, 2011

Sue, George and family, my sympathies and condolences on your loss. Its tough
when your dad gets that 3rd strike and is called out.

January 5, 2011

Susan and Family, Your Dad and my Dad were great friends. I remember back in the day when your Dad used to repair T.V.'s in the off season. Your dad made me a happy kid several times when he would throw me a baseball at the Sox games he worked. Great memories of a great guy. God Bless. Bill Wragg

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