Betty Evelyn (Leisure) Rice, 92

Betty Evelyn (Leisure) Rice, 92, passed away Dec. 22, 2014, after a full life.

She was born on the family farm Nov. 21, 1922, which is on State Road 28 west of Elwood, Indiana, just over the Tipton County line, to Audie Esther (Lewis) and Ray David Leisure. She was the eldest child and had four brothers, Omer, Richard, David and Robert.

After graduating from Elwood High, she attended business school in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She met and later married John Sherman Rice on July 26, 1941, and settled in Fort Wayne. When John returned from the South Pacific after World War II, their first daughter, Mary Jane, was born in 1946. Their second daughter, Deborah Anne, was born in 1948. The family later moved to Leo, Indiana. In 1987, after John's death, Betty moved to Hungry Horse, and in 1995 she settled into her home south of Columbia Falls on Middle Road.

Betty is survived by daughters, Mary Jane and Jim Decker of Fort Wayne, and Deb and Rob Bechtel of Columbia Falls; granddaughters, Abigail and Sean Creigh, and Jennifer and Larry Wroza of Rochester Hills, Michigan; great-grandchildren, Cole and Killian Creigh, Lauren, Anthony and Owen Wroza; and her brothers, Omer and David Leisure of Tipton County. She is loved and missed by her family and her special kitty, Sparky.

For the past year Betty had been under the care of Frontier Home Heath and recently Agape Home Care.

She will be buried next to John at Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne during summer 2015. The date of the graveside services will be announced at a later date.

Columbia Mortuary is caring for Betty's family.