Kathryn Geneva Rice

Kathryn Geneva Rice passed away at her home with her children by her side on Monday, May 23, 2022. She was 87. She had suffered a major stroke on Sunday, January 10, 2021, and had been living in her home since May 2021.

She is preceded in death by her father, David Mingrim Kerr; mother, Inez Osborne Kerr; brother, James Newton Kerr, and husband Samuel Gillette Rice, Jr. She is survived by her children, Perry and Stacey Rice; niece, Kelly (Doug) Jeffers of Modesto; nephews, Joseph Kerr of King City and Jacob Kerr of Arizona; nephews, Andre Chiara of Cincinnati, Tim Chiara of Nice, Calif., and Tony Chiara of Honolulu, Hawaii; nieces, Tina Chiara (Dennis D'Ambrogio) of San Francisco and Kristen (Robert) of Maui, Hawaii.

Kathryn was born in Clarita, Okla., and spent her early days with her maternal grandparents, Jake and Leila Osborne, on their farm barefoot, drinking fresh milk from their cows and spreading the cream from the plug on cornbread. She helped care for all of her young cousins, an early sign of her kind and giving spirit. She moved around with her mother and brother, as they followed her father and the harvest from Oklahoma to Texas to Washington.

Their family eventually drove out to California from Oklahoma in an old pickup, riding in the bed with her cousins, first living in Chualar with her grandparents. She went to Gonzales High School her first two years and then the family moved to Greenfield and lived in what had been a chicken house. She rode the bus from Greenfield and went to King City High School her junior and senior years, graduating in 1952.

Kathryn went to Hartnell College after high school, where she learned the lost art of short hand and graduated with an AA degree. While attending Hartnell she worked for the Cominos family, who distributed soft drinks and beer, and attorney Arthur Atteridge. She met Sam in 1954 and they were married in 1957. She moved with him to East Los Angeles in 1958 due to his first assignment out of the California Highway Patrol academy. They moved back to King City less than a year later and she resumed her position at CTF Soledad as the secretary to the warden. After the birth of Perry she went to work as the secretary for Dr. Len Hughes Andrus and then Dr. Guieze at Mee Memorial Hospital. Their office was at the Surrey Motel on Broadway. After that, she started working at Rural Health Project behind Mee Memorial Hospital and continued working there until 1984 when she went to work for Basic American Foods as the administrative secretary to the plant manager. She retired from Basic in 1999.

Kathryn was a loving, kind, smart, and funny woman. She had a fantastic sense of humor, an independent spirit and she always reminded her family and friends to not sweat the small stuff. She was always positive and knew things would work out, and never stressed about anything. She knew no strangers and wanted to get to know everyone who crossed her path, always trying to make the "six degrees of South County separation" connection.

She was a member of the Silver Kings and Queens and the South Monterey County Republican Women Federation; and loved her San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors and San Francisco 49ers.

If you knew her, keep her in your heart and remember how awesome she was.

There will be a viewing and visitation at Eddington Funeral Services on Monday, June 13, 2022 from 4-8 p.m. Her funeral will be the next day on June 14, 2022 at 10 a.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in King City, with burial following at the King City District Cemetery. A reception will take place at the Orradre Building at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds following burial.

We share our immense gratitude to Ingrid and Julie, her caregivers for almost a year. We also extend our gratitude to the Visiting Nurses Association, In Home Healthcare Services, and the staff of Bridge Hospice, who came to her home to provide care and keep her spirits up and help make her stronger: Mike, Amy, Katie, Karr, Ryan, Juana, Carlos, Claudette, Viviana, Eve.

Donations can be made to South County Animal Rescue (SCAR) or the Monterey County SPCA on Kathryn's behalf.

For additional information, contact Eddington Funeral Services, 429 Bassett St., King City, (831) 385-5400, www.EFS-Cares.com.

Published in King City Rustler · June 7, 2022