Bennie Christine Rice

Bennie Christine Rice died at age 98, on May 9, 2023, and visitation and services will be held on Monday, May 15, at 10:00 am, at Meredith Funeral Home, 300 S. University Ave, Carbondale. Mrs. Rice had lived in Carbondale since 1959.

Her husband W. Manion Rice died in 2013. Mrs. Rice is survived by her children and their families: son Matthew Rogers Rice of Springfield; son Craig Benjamin Rice, his wife Karen, of Mundelein, Illinois, and their three children, Brian, Eric and Michelle; daughter Carol Rice Andrews, her husband Keith and son Ben, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Mrs. Rice was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 18, 1925, to Arthur and Bennie Mae Rogers, and she resided there until 1933 when her family moved to Milan, Tennessee. She went to college in Columbia, Missouri, and received degrees from Christian College for Women and the University of Missouri, in journalism. Before her marriage, she worked for the Clovis, New Mexico, News Journal and the National Cotton Council in Memphis. She and Manion were wed in Milan in 1949 and lived in three states before making Carbondale their home.

In Carbondale, Mrs. Rice was active in many civic organizations. She served as President of the PEO Sisterhood, Director of the SIU-C Women's Club, den mother to Cub Scouts, and member of the League of Women Voters. Much of her work centered on her membership in the First United Methodist Church, including its Food Pantry, Church Women United and Meals on Wheels.

Mrs. Rice was an avid genealogist. She traveled the nation researching her (and Manion's) ancestry, and in 1995, she published a two-volume chronicle of this family history, "Genesis in Virginia." Her work was originally placed in 20 libraries, and it now is accessed on-line by researchers around the world. She was a member of the Southern Illinois Genealogy Society.

Mrs. Rice continued her interest in journalism throughout her life. She wrote columns for the Kennett Square News Herald, while living in Pennsylvania, and book reviews, for the Daily Egyptian at SIU. She also wrote town histories for the Kennett Square community and for the Carbondale League of Women Voters town guide.

Mrs. Rice requested that any memorials be made, as appropriate, to the American Cancer Society or First United Methodist Church.

Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale assisted the family with arrangements. To leave a story or memory of Mrs. Rice visit www.meredithfh.com