Roberta Randall Rice Sullivan

Roberta Randall Rice Sullivan (Bobbi) went to be with her Savior on November 22, 2025.
Bobbi was born on February 23, 1943, in Roanoke, Virginia, to Raymond Randall Rice and Virgina Dare Wallner Rice. She was the middle sister of Suzanne Rice Mott and Martha Louise Rice Shelton, and her younger brother, Raymond Randall Rice, Jr.
Raised in Pulaski, Virginia, she graduated from Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, in 1961 and accepted a teaching position in Richmond, Virginia. Two years later, she joined her older sister in Okinawa, Japan, teaching at Kubasaki Junior High School, for the Department of Defense Overseas Schools. After two years in Okinawa, she had agreed to teach in Germany for the new school year, when she met John Sullivan who had just arrived in Okinawa following a 13-month tour in Vietnam. After a whirlwind romance, they decided to get married and, since teachers were required to leave for the summer, met two months later in Hawaii where they were joined in Holy Matrimony.
For the next 25 years she raised her family and served as a military wife who took on a leadership role during the frequent and lengthy US and international deployments of her husband. When her children were young, she would pack them all and head overseas to join her husband whenever it was possible. For three years she was a much-loved and respected First Lady of the Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, South Carolina, serving on many organizational boards including her children's school board and the local pregnancy center. She especially loved to volunteer at the Home for Exceptional Children and the nursing home.
Bobbi made twenty-two household moves while her husband served in the Marine Corps some of which she did alone while her husband deployed. After John's retirement from active duty, they bought a home in East Asheville where she lived for the next 30 years. She loved her neighbors and their home in the mountains. She also loved her church and its members and was a true prayer warrior for many years. They traveled to East Africa for many years teaching in seminary and other venues. Bobbi was a "people-person" and loved meeting new people and making friends. She had a missionary heart and formed relationships with many of her husband's African staff and students. She loved being a member of the church's Missions Committee and their small group.
She is preceded in death by her sister, Martha, and her brother, Raymond, Jr. ("Buddy"). She is survived by her husband of 56 years, John, and their son Sean David Sullivan (Laura), and Molly Harrington Sullivan, six grandsons, three granddaughters and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service for Bobbi will be held at Christ Community Church, Montreat, on Sunday, December 7, at 3:00 p.m. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the L. Nelson Bell Missions Endowment Fund through Christ Community Church.