DEBBY BRACHMAN RICE

Deborah Rae Brachman Rice, 81, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Baylor All Saints hospital early Sunday morning, July 14th. A graveside service will be held at the Ahavath Sholom Cemetery at 411 N. University Drive on Monday, July 15th at 9am, and a service/reception will be held at the home of Laurie and Lon Lerner, , at 5:30pm on Monday night. 

A lifelong Texan, Debby was the beloved oldest daughter of Leon and Fay Brachman, mother of Mark Rice (married to Ellen Rice), and Todd Rice, confidante, housemate and sister of Ellen Brachman (of blessed memory), older sister of Marshall Brachman (married to Anne) and Wendy Brachman Fisher (married to Warren), and beloved grandmother of Max, Nathan, Miles and Sabrina Rice. Born in wartime Boston in 1943, she was raised in Fort Worth, attended Bluebonnet elementary school, McLean junior high school, Paschal high school and the University of Texas at Austin. A popular 50s-era Fort Worth teenager, she sported a bouffant hairdo, was Sweetheart of the local B’nai Brith youth group and star of the Phylades charity club’s fashion show. She married Melvin Rice from Houston after her freshman year at UT in 1962, gave birth to her first son, Mark, a year later, and to her younger son Todd 3 years later. A stay-at-home housewife, she was active in all Ft. Worth Jewish community organizations, played killer mah jongg, and raised her boys in the heart of the Ft. Worth Jewish community. In the early 70s, she moved to Houston for 15 years, and then returned to Ft. Worth in the mid-80s, selflessly devoting herself to caring for her aging parents. One of a kind, Debby was a crazy, fun-loving grandmother and aunt for an entire generation of Jewish youth, including especially her beloved grandchildren, nieces and nephews. A passionate, selfless supporter of an extremely broad range of public service and cultural organizations, Debby was a tireless volunteer for the Fort Worth Chamber Music Society, Ahavath Shalom synagogue, Hadassah, the Texas Jewish Historical Society, SiNaCa Studios and more. She was famous for her biting humor and zinger one-liners, and she lifted the spirits of all she knew with her selfless attention and friendship. She will be deeply missed.