MELVERN, Kan. – George Donald Rice, 95, passed away on Thursday, June 6, 2019, at Midland Hospice House, Topeka, Kan. He was born on May 9, 1924, in Maxon, Kan., the son of Fleming and Goldie Sutton Rice.

Don, as he was known, had lived most all of his life in the Melvern, Kan., community. He served in the United States Army in World War II in the European Theater. He worked for the Santa Fe Railroad as a clerk and then as a yardman. He was a member of the Melvern American Legion Post 317 and the 40 & 8 group, and was a Melvern city councilman and a volunteer on the Melvern Fire Department. 

Don was married to Beverly June Boyer on Oct. 19, 1942, in Ottawa.

Don was preceded in death by his daughter, Pat Kronk, in 1972; a grandson, Vince Rice, in 2013; and a daughter-in-law, Barbara Rice, in 2015.

Don is survived by his wife, June, of the home; his six children, Jim and Teresa Rice, Melvern, Trudy and Bill Orender, Osage City, Kan., George Rice, Clay Center, Kan., Christine and Marlin Orear, Melvern, John and Dorothy Rice, Osage City, and Karen and Larry Allison, Melvern; two sisters, Phyllis Rhodes, of California, and Mary Ruth Felitsky, Topeka; and 19 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 11, at Feltner Funeral Chapel, Lyndon, Kan. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until service time. Burial will be in the Melvern Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Midland Hospice House or the Melvern American Legion Post 317, sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Ave., Lyndon, KS 66451. Condolences may be left at feltnerfuneralhome.com.