James M. Rice

James M. Rice

IRON MOUNTAIN — James Matthew Rice, 73, of Ann Arbor, Mich., passed away Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Jim was born in Iron Mountain, gave his hometown his best, and moved down south to work and study, where he earned a degree from Wayne State University. He served valiantly in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was discharged honorably after reaching the rank of E5 sergeant. He quickly began his focus on building a career and raising a family. He recently retired from the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, where he built a lasting program to teach quality control systems to organizations, a role he enjoyed to its fullest potential. Jim enjoyed the outdoors, storytelling, singing, and sharing his love of movies and song with others. He never met a person he didn’t try to make smile, and he frequently befriended animals and adorned them with fanciful names. Jim was predeceased by Leoloni (Schek), his wife of 51 years; his mother and father, Bernice and Lloyd Rice; and all but one of his siblings. Jim is survived by his older brother, David Rice (Jeanette); Jim’s three children, Jamie Claffey, Jodie Hughes (Jeff), and Jason Rice (Lesley); plus three wonderful grandchildren, Abbey, Holden, and Bella, all of whom he dearly loved and spoiled well. His ‘girl dog’ Cinnamon misses Jim and thanks him for giving her a forever home. A celebration of his life memorial is being planned for spring, in Ann Arbor. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions in his name be made to BoysTown.org, an organization Jim supported wholeheartedly.