Halfway, Oregon
Marie Rice, 98, a longtime Halfway resident, died Oct. 13, 2004, at the Cascade Care Center in Caldwell, Idaho.
Her graveside service was Saturday at Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. Friends joined the family after the service for a reception at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Marie Caroline was born on Aug. 26, 1906, at West Jordan, Utah, to Caroline Webster and Ephriam Bendixen. Her early years were spent in Utah and Idaho.
As a child her family moved to California and it was during that time that she watched the ashes from Mount Shasta fall, as it blew its top.
Later in life, Marie watched the ash fall from Mount St. Helens. She watched all the important things that were invented and happened in her lifetime.
When Marie was 18, she married Leslie Sagers; they had five children. They were farmers and lived in many places ending in Halfway. After they were divorced, she married Everett Rice; they had one daughter.
Marie liked to help people and enjoyed making beautiful things. She did anything that had to do with crafts. She made afghans, dollies, tablecloths and many things out of beads and anything else at hand. She started making rugs out of plastic sacks and had everyone in the valley saving sacks for her.
These rugs were sent all over the world. She never wanted to save any crafts for herself, she enjoyed giving them all away. Marie liked to play bingo, hunt for mushrooms, pick huckleberries and make pies. She sold pies at one time to the local restaurant in the area.
Survivors include three daughters, Alice Langer of Helix, Donna Harrell of Caldwell, Idaho, and Bonnie Zanelli of Halfway; 10 grandchildren, Denny Curtis and Tom Curtis of Halfway, Sammy Lineberger of Helix, Bonnie Quimby of Absorkee, Mont., Joanie, Terry, Leslie and Chuck Harrell of Caldwell, Idaho, Tammy Astley of Pasco, Wash., and K.C. Zachary of Caldwell, Idaho; 26 great-grandchildren and 25 great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; three sons, Swede, Rusty and Gene; two sisters, Fern Tolley of Moses Lake, Wash., Cleo Larvie of Omaha, Neb.; four brothers, Grant, who died as a child, Leon of Halfway, Vere of West Valley, Utah, and Roy of Delta, Utah; three grandsons, Mike, Mickey and Jack Langer of Halfway; and a great-granddaughter, Toni Harrell of Caldwell, Idaho.
Marie always had a smile for everyone and a helping hand for those who needed it.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Halfway/Oxbow Ambulance through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, October 22, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
