Obituary of Leota M. Rice

Leota M. Rice, 90 of 350 Dublin Drive, Iowa City died Friday, August 15, 2008, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, August 20, 2008, at the First United Methodist Church in Iowa City with the Reverend John Raab officiating. (Sunday parking ordinance will be in effect for streets around the church) Burial will be at Memory Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service. In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established in Leota’s memory. Online condolences may be sent for her family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com. Leota M. Rice was born March 22, 1918 in Titonka, Iowa, daughter of Raymond and Minnie Oesterreicher. She graduated from high school in Titonka and attended the Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She taught fifth grade in Riceville, Iowa and Greenfield, Iowa for four years. On April 19, 1941 she married Manford A. Rice of Greenfield, Iowa. During the four years Manford was in service during World War II, she worked for Civil Service in the War Department at Camp Hauzee, Gainesville, Texas, The Presidio in Monterey, California, Prisoner of War Camp in Algona, Iowa and the Air Force Training Command in Ft. Worth, Texas. She retired from the University of Iowa in 1982, after working 15 years for Residence Hall Services as dining secretary at Burge and Currier Halls. In retirement, she and her husband spent winters in Mesa, Arizona for 20 years and enjoyed a great deal of traveling. She was a member of First United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, Chapter K.P. PEO and NN Club. Her family includes her husband, Manford, of 68 years, daughter, Shirley Murphy and husband, Steve, of Iowa City and daughter, Donna James and husband, Tony, of Altoona, Iowa. There are two grandchildren, Heather James, of Overland Park, Kansas and Tim Murphy, of Fort Dodge, Iowa. In addition, she has two sisters, Ferne Higdon, of Iowa City and Lavon Turin of Portland, Oregon. She was preceded in death by her parents, and one brother, Dean, who died at age eight. Leota, a loving wife and mother, devoted grandmother, who will be greatly missed by all those who knew her! Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service is caring for Leota’s family and her services.