Albert Cary Rice passed away peacefully on October 27, 2025, in the presence of his wife and daughter. Albert, known to friends and family as "Al", was born to Adeline and Albert P. Rice in Ventura, California. He attended Oxnard High and met his wife, Lou, while both were studying at Ventura Community College. Al and Lou married in Ventura in 1962. They traveled to the World's Fair, held in Seattle that year, on their honeymoon. Al and Lou attended Utah State University together, living in married student housing, where Al earned his Master's in Civil Engineering. The couple moved to Seattle in 1966, where daughter Kathy was born. Al specialized in soil mechanics and soon began a decades long career with the City of Seattle's Materials Lab, a lab he managed for many years until he retired in 2006.
During his time with the City, Al contributed to many great Seattle area public works, inspecting and advising on the construction and repair of dams, reservoirs, bridges, and landslide affected areas. Some of the highlights of his career included his work with the construction of the West Seattle Bridge in the 1980s, the design of the new cover for the Maple Leaf reservoir when it was moved underground in the early 2000s, and, a personal favorite of his, the implosion of the Seattle "Kingdome" on March 26, 2000.
Al was an avid outdoorsman and lover of the natural world. He was constantly outdoors in his free time — from his youth in Oxnard, California, running free and camping with his cousins, to his adult years hiking, backpacking, and carefully tending to the family yard and home. He enjoyed picking berries at local farms every summer with his wife and daughter, and later his granddaughter; he always out picked us all. After retirement, he embarked on a project to paint all four stories of the family home by himself, setting up scaffolding and painting one side of the house each summer for four years running. In his later years, he continued faithfully tending to the family yard and especially enjoyed being accompanied by his granddaughter Eloise as his hard-working, occasionally playful, assistant.
Al always delighted in encountering any living creature, be it the bald eagles he and Lou saw on their walks together in Magnuson park, or the perennial Pacific Northwest house spiders that appear every fall. He would collect interesting beetles, butterflies, spiders, and other creepy crawly creatures from the house and yard, and loved showing them to his family before letting them go. One of the highlights of his time outdoors was being stalked by a cougar on a backpacking trip at the Washington coast. Out in the field to inspect local dams, he caught newts and frogs, and built elaborate terrariums for them in his office at home. He once found a nest of baby squirrels abandoned in the yard and nursed them in a shoebox, feeding them water from a miniature doll bottle.
Al had a great sense of adventure. He and Lou traveled all over the world together, visiting England, Greece, Russia, Croatia, Ireland, Australia, Peru, and other countries. Al went to Vietnam and China with family and friends, and took a multi-day sailing trip with friends in the Bahamas, serving as a crew member on the boat. Beyond travel for adventure, Al loved being with family and enjoyed many trips to visit extended family and friends over the years. Throughout his daughter Kathy's childhood he was a faithful supervisor of all sorts of school field trips. In 2012, at the age of 72 and several years into his Parkinson's diagnosis, he traveled to Morocco and trekked 100 kilometers through the Sahara Desert with his daughter as part of a rare disease fundraiser. He was one of the oldest trekkers in the group and one of the steadiest and strongest too.
Al is preceded in death by his parents Albert and Adeline, and his sister Carol. He is survived by his wife Lou, daughter Kathy, son-in-law John, and granddaughter Eloise. A celebration of life will be held in the coming months. Please reach out to his daughter, Kathy, for details. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation or the Washington Trails Association, organizations whose work he found meaningful.
Al's was a life well-lived. He will be remembered fondly and with much love.
During his time with the City, Al contributed to many great Seattle area public works, inspecting and advising on the construction and repair of dams, reservoirs, bridges, and landslide affected areas. Some of the highlights of his career included his work with the construction of the West Seattle Bridge in the 1980s, the design of the new cover for the Maple Leaf reservoir when it was moved underground in the early 2000s, and, a personal favorite of his, the implosion of the Seattle "Kingdome" on March 26, 2000.
Al was an avid outdoorsman and lover of the natural world. He was constantly outdoors in his free time — from his youth in Oxnard, California, running free and camping with his cousins, to his adult years hiking, backpacking, and carefully tending to the family yard and home. He enjoyed picking berries at local farms every summer with his wife and daughter, and later his granddaughter; he always out picked us all. After retirement, he embarked on a project to paint all four stories of the family home by himself, setting up scaffolding and painting one side of the house each summer for four years running. In his later years, he continued faithfully tending to the family yard and especially enjoyed being accompanied by his granddaughter Eloise as his hard-working, occasionally playful, assistant.
Al always delighted in encountering any living creature, be it the bald eagles he and Lou saw on their walks together in Magnuson park, or the perennial Pacific Northwest house spiders that appear every fall. He would collect interesting beetles, butterflies, spiders, and other creepy crawly creatures from the house and yard, and loved showing them to his family before letting them go. One of the highlights of his time outdoors was being stalked by a cougar on a backpacking trip at the Washington coast. Out in the field to inspect local dams, he caught newts and frogs, and built elaborate terrariums for them in his office at home. He once found a nest of baby squirrels abandoned in the yard and nursed them in a shoebox, feeding them water from a miniature doll bottle.
Al had a great sense of adventure. He and Lou traveled all over the world together, visiting England, Greece, Russia, Croatia, Ireland, Australia, Peru, and other countries. Al went to Vietnam and China with family and friends, and took a multi-day sailing trip with friends in the Bahamas, serving as a crew member on the boat. Beyond travel for adventure, Al loved being with family and enjoyed many trips to visit extended family and friends over the years. Throughout his daughter Kathy's childhood he was a faithful supervisor of all sorts of school field trips. In 2012, at the age of 72 and several years into his Parkinson's diagnosis, he traveled to Morocco and trekked 100 kilometers through the Sahara Desert with his daughter as part of a rare disease fundraiser. He was one of the oldest trekkers in the group and one of the steadiest and strongest too.
Al is preceded in death by his parents Albert and Adeline, and his sister Carol. He is survived by his wife Lou, daughter Kathy, son-in-law John, and granddaughter Eloise. A celebration of life will be held in the coming months. Please reach out to his daughter, Kathy, for details. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation or the Washington Trails Association, organizations whose work he found meaningful.
Al's was a life well-lived. He will be remembered fondly and with much love.
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