William E. “Bill” Rice

William E. “Bill” Rice died just after midnight on November 13, 2023. He was born January 29, 1934, in Goshen, Indiana, to John and Eva Lena Rice. He was the seventh of eight children. He grew up in Tipton, Indiana, and, after two years in Memphis, Texas, where he managed the Memphis Cyclones the year they won the state basketball championship, the family returned to Tipton. Bill graduated from Tipton Community High School. He married his childhood sweetheart, Sandra (Sandy) Tucker. Together, they raised three children—Scott, Lisa, and David—and had seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

As soon as Bill was 21, he applied to and was accepted by the Indiana State Police and trained as a trooper at Indiana University. The highlight of his police career came in 1957 when he helped to save a four-year-old girl by racing to bring her the medicine she needed.

His subsequent career in life insurance and real estate spanned nearly five decades and only ended when Sandy insisted that if they were going to enjoy their retirement, he would actually have to retire.

Bill believed in being involved in his adopted hometown of Union City, Indiana, where he and Sandy lived for 67 years. He was in Jaycees until he became an Exhausted Rooster at age 35. He was an elder in the church, a member of Union City Beautification, and of Rotary, where he had perfect attendance for the 49 years the organization kept track. As city judge for Union City for eight years, Bill meted out restitution or educational sentences rather than punitive ones. He was a member of the Treaty City Motorcycle Club with the handle “Judge.”

He was the ultimate do-gooder. He believed in doing the right thing and in telling the truth. Bill saw the best in people. His belief in his children made them want to be who he thought they already were. He taught them: “Don’t sweat the peewees,” and the secret: “It’s all peewees.”

He wove elaborate stories for his kids and grandkids, including tales about the black plastic ants he carried in his pocket. He once burnt out a garage door opener, pretending he was magically opening the door for his grandkids: “Open sesame!”

He liked to whistle for the pleasure of it, and as he often said, “We’ll get through this together.”

Bill died just three days shy of being married to Sandy for 72 years.

No funeral services are planned. Bill will be buried in Fairview Cemetery, Tipton,

Young-Nichols funeral home is assisting the Rice family in their time of need. Please leave condolences for the family on Bills obituary page at www.young-nichols.com.