Kenneth Harrison Rice, formerly of Christmas Cove, died peacefully and well-cared for on Oct. 4 at Dirigo Pines Retirement Community in Orono, where he had lived for the past three years.
Ken was born on July 22, 1920 in E. Rindge, N.H. on the family farm, to Ruth (Prescott) and Harold Hamilton Rice. Ken grew up with rural New England values that stayed for a lifetime. He skied Tuckerman’s Ravine and rode his Indian motorcycle, and attended Murdock High School in Winchendon, Mass. and Wentworth Institute in Boston.
When WWII called, Ken volunteered in the Army Air Corps and flew 49 missions over Europe as a waist gunner in a B-17. Ken’s good luck piece was a piece of flack that came through the fuselage, hit his leather jacket and fell to the deck. He bent over, picked it up and put it in his pocket.
After the war, Ken returned to Boston where he met and married the love of his life, Arletta Thorpe of Christmas Cove. They spent the next 26 years in Townsend, Mass. where they raised two children, Mark and Becky. He worked as a Business Machine mechanic at Fort Devens and Arletta taught English at Spaulding Elementary.
Upon their retirement, they moved to Christmas Cove and spent winters in Jekyll Island, Ga. They remained very active, enjoying their grandchildren, playing tennis and traveling. When life became slower, they moved to Avalon Village in Hampden where Ken took unshakable care of Arletta. She passed in 2005 and Ken moved to Dirigo several years later.
Ken was known by family and friends as a true gentleman.
Ken leaves behind a strong living legacy. He is survived by his son, Mark Rice and wife Kym of Brinklow, Md.; daughter, Becky and sidekick Jimmy Barnes of Mariaville; grandchildren, Stacey, Claire, Ben, Jake and Ike; and four great-grandchildren.
