Lauren Rice

Lauren (Larry) Blaine Rice 1946 – 2022 Larry Rice passed away on August 7, 2022, following a short illness. He was born June 1, 1946, to Floyd and Veneta Rice in Tillamook, OR. He was forever grateful for the care he received as a child at Shriners Children’s Hospital. Growing up, his family lived in Tillamook and Ellensburg and he spent his teen years in Yakima where he graduated from A. C. Davis High School in 1965. After high school, Larry moved to Seattle where he worked as an electrician for the Boeing Aircraft Company while he attended the Seattle Community College’s Boilermaker apprentice program. His favorite job in Seattle was as a rigger for Lockheed and at Todd Shipyards. While living in Seattle, he married Wanda Coffindaffer in 1966. Larry moved to San Bernardino, California, in 1971 and went to work for Lear-Siegler on Norton Air Force Base as an airplane electrician. While living in San Bernardino, he met his future wife Martha Mitchell. They were married in June 1973 and moved to Yakima in 1978, when Larry went to work at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation as a Boilermaker. He retired from Hanford after 16 years. One of his greatest pleasures was volunteering for the Northern Pacific Railway Museum as a curator and using his boilermaker experience to assist with the restoration of railroad equipment with the Toppenish Rail and Steam Association and the Toppenish, Simcoe & Western Railroad. His white hair and beard, along with his jolly personality, made him a natural to play Santa Claus for nearly thirty years on the Christmas train, which he enjoyed very much. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Marilyn Swetkovich and Sandra Harwood, his brother, Wilburn Rice, his mother Veneta Kilmer, his father, Floyd Rice, his son, Jason Rice, and his granddaughter, Lupita Jimenez. He is survived by his sons Rob (Cassaundra) Coffindaffer of Inverness, FL, and Craig Rice of Yakima, daughter, Anna (Alex) Jimenez of Tigard, OR; grandchildren Amanda, Brice, Cole and Darlene Coffindaffer and Isaiah Rice; great-granddaughter, Sabrina Lemke, many cousins, nieces and nephews and his friend Sue Riddell.. A viewing will be held on August 19, 2022, from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Valley Hills Funeral Home, 2600 Business Lane in Terrace Heights. A memorial service will be held later in the Fall. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Larry’s Honor to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Portland or the Northern Pacific Railway Museum or the Yakima Valley Rail and Steam Association, both in Toppenish, WA. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Lauren Rice, please visit our flower store.