Obituary

Marguerite bailey hall “marge” rice passed away peacefully in her home in charlottesville, virginia on august 2, 2017. She was predeceased by her husband, william rufus “bill” rice.

She is survived by three children: william stephen “steve” rice and his wife, carolyn, of ormond beach florida; pamela rice faircloth and her husband, jack, of charlottesville, virginia; and melinda “mindy” rice peters and her husband, tommy, of burnsville, north carolina. Four grandchildren hold affectionate memories of their grandmother: valerie elizabeth rice of seattle, washington, mark alexander rice of ormond beach,

florida, amanda caroline faircloth of richmond, virginia, and emily faircloth reid (stanton) of atlanta, georgia. Great-grandchildren pamela cummings reid, emily marguerite reid, and bruce stanton reid, iii of atlanta, georgia, loved spending time with “oma.”

an especially dear friend, sandra boggs carpenter of columbus, ohio, was as close as a daughter to marguerite. She and her husband, larry, share in the family’s loss.

Born november 7, 1921, in beaver, west virginia, marguerite was the daughter of harry thomas hall and kathleen keller hall. Siblings rosemary hall huffman, jeanne hall mundy, and harry thomas hall, jr. Predeceased her. Her sister, bettie hall rankin, lives in austin, texas.

Marguerite’s family moved to south charleston, west virginia in the l930’s. A bright student, she graduated as valedictorian from south charleston high school in l938, at the age of 16. She worked as a secretary at virginia gas & oil, where she met the love of her life, bill rice.

A member of the greatest generation, marguerite enlisted in the u.S. Navy waves on january 13, 1943. She was stationed in chicago as a recruiter, and travelled throughout illinois, speaking to women’s clubs, modeling uniforms, and opening enlistment offices. She gave recruiting speeches during intermission of concerts of well-known performers, including the les brown, tommy dorsey, and benny goodman orchestras. Bill and marge were married on september 25, l943, in darlington methodist church, south charleston, west virginia. After completing studies at northwestern medical school, bill served as a u.S. Navy medical officer in the pacific theater. Marge lived with her family in charleston, west virginia, for the remainder of wwii. In l946, she and bill moved to dunbar, west virginia, where he established a medical practice.

Marge enjoyed volunteer work, becoming actively involved with pta, the kanawha home for children, the women’s committee of the charleston symphony, and the kanawha medical auxiliary. She served as president of each of these organizations. Always interested in fashion, she modeled for fourteen years in the annual “symphony of fashion” sponsored by the greenbrier room of stone & thomas department store.

Bill and marge had a loving and committed marriage. His sudden death in l971 at the age of 54 was a shock to his family and the community where he practiced medicine. Adjusting to life without her beloved husband, marge began a career as a fashion buyer for the greenbrier room at stone & thomas department store (l973-79) in charleston, west virginia. In l980 she was hired as the buyer for schwabe-may, where she remained until 2001. She moved to charlottesville, virginia in 2005 to be closer to family. Marge had a great love of beautiful things: architecture, literature, theater, music, fashion, and dance. Her life was a reflection of all those combined. She was an amazing cook and hostess. She placed great emphasis on hospitality, hosting innumerable holiday parties and reunions for extended family, as well as gatherings for friends. Her children are grateful to her for all she taught them, and for the family traditions she started, which continue now into the third generation.

Marge’s children offer heartfelt thanks to caregivers paula grooms, sandy layman, ashley grooms, and lakeisha grooms for the many years of compassionate, loving, and devoted attention they paid to our mother. The family is also grateful for the many services and support provided by hospice of the piedmont.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am at christ church united methodist in charleston, west virginia, on september 16, 2017. The family will receive visitors at a reception in the potter room immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to hospice of the piedmont, charlottesville, virginia (http://hopva.Org), or christ church united methodist, charleston, west virginia (http://www.Ccumwv.Org/giving.Html).

Barlow-bonsall funeral home, charleston, west virginia, is in charge of arrangements.

Condolences may be sent to the family at:

https://barlowbonsall.com/obituaries-and-condolences2/.