Rhoda S. Rice

Columbia—The funeral service for Rhoda Spears Rice, 87, of Columbia will be held on Friday, August 28, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at Riverland Hills Baptist Church with the Reverend Dr. Tim Phillips officiating.The family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. -10:50 a.m. in the church sanctuary.Burial will follow in Bush River Memorial Gardens. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, masks will be requested and social distancing observed. Rhoda was born in Conway, SC on September 21, 1932, to the late John Spears and Glenn Ward Spears.She passed away on August 24, 2020.Rhoda and her husband, Jim were Charter Members of Riverland Hills Baptist Church and She held numerous leadership positions in the church Rhoda graduated from the University of SC with a Master of Education degree and Winthrop University with a Batchelor's degree in Education. She worked in education as a teacher spending the majority of her career teaching at Sandel Elementary School in Columbia SC.She especially enjoyed teaching and taught the second grade for many years before retiring. She achieved Master Gardner's status and enjoyed growing flowers. She regularly entered them in the state fair each year and frequently won prizes for her state fair entries. Survivors include James L. “Jimmie” Rice, loving husband of 62 years of the home; daughters, Lisa R. McKinney (Mark) and Jimmie Rice; son, Stephen Rice; grandchildren, Brittainy McKinney, Trenton McKinney, Joshua Bosse, Zachary Maestas, and Carly Herndon; great-grandchildren, Chloe, Zoey, Eva, and Haela. Those who preceded her in death besides her parents were two brothers and two sisters. Memorials in Mrs. Rice’s honor may be made to Riverland Hills Baptist Church, 201 Lake Murray Blvd., Irmo, SC 29063, and/or Leeza’s Connection, 6072 St. Andrews Road, Columbia, SC 29210.