BETTY M. RICE

Betty M. Rice, 84, died Nov. 2, 2001, at Valley Hospital in Palmer, due to complications from heart and respiratory illness.

The family will hold a memorial service next summer to honor Ms. Rice's request that her ashes be spread at Hatcher Pass.

Ms. Rice was born in Bessemer, Mich., on Feb. 7, 1917, and moved to the Matanuska Valley in 1935 with her parents. As part of the Carl Meier family, she was an original colonist and helped her family develop a farm on the Springer Loop near Meier Lake.

She married and lived and raised a family at Independence Mine in Hatcher Pass, and then moved into Palmer.

In Palmer she worked as a secretary for Dorothy Saxton, magistrate, and at Koslosky's Department Store as a sales clerk. In the mid-1960s she moved to Hawaii and continued working in retail sales and became a leader in the Retail Clerks Union. After retiring, she returned to Alaska and lived in Anchorage for several years and then moved back to Palmer to be nearer to family.

Ms. Rice was a member of St. John Lutheran Church from its first establishment. She enjoyed visits from her family, and, up to a few years ago, did needlework and crafts.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Edith Meier; sister, Babe Shaver; and brother, Bob Meier.

She is survived by her son, Joe Rice of Palmer; sons and daughter in law, Pat and Claudia Rice of Washington, and Lane and Lois Rice of Washington; stepson, Miles Rice, of California; brother, Bud, of Montana; and numerous nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.