Obituary of Clarence Al Rice

Clarence AL Rice April 18, 1922 - July 18, 2018 C AL Rice was born on April 18, 1922 in Detroit., Michigan. He graduated from Fordson High School in Dearborn in 1940. July, 1942 he enlisted as a naval aviation cadet, pre-flight at Iowa City, IA, graduated from Pensacola, FL, received his wings of gold and commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in December, 1943. He served one year in the South Pacific with the VMB-423 Seahorse Marines as a B-25 twin-engine bomber (AKA PBJ) pilot. He was awarded the Air Medal four times and the Distinguished Flying Cross once. April, 1946 released to inactive duty as a Captain in the Marine Corp Reserve. He graduated from University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics in 1948 and Master of Business Administration in 1949. He and Max Gail, Sr., started Gail & Rice as a band booking agency in Detroit. It is now a successful entertainment and communications business, now headquartered in Farmington Hills and still family owned. Al and Laura have been married for almost 75 years and reside in the same home for almost 63 years. They have 4 children, 14 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. He loved adventure and travel. Al was a member of the now defunct Nomads Travel group, having logged over 400,000 air miles on trips around the world with Laura. Memberships - Kirk in the Hills, Detroit Athletic Club Life Member, Western Golf & Country Club, Past President, 1963, Island Country Club, Marco Island, FL and Quiet Birdmen A celebration of his life will be held at Kirk in the Hills, 1340 West Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 on August 13, 2018 at 11:00 am. Memorial Donations may be made to: -Yankee Air Museum, B-25 Fund, 47884 D Street, Belleville, MI 48111 (Note: Al Rice) or -St. Baldricks Foundation, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 400, Monrovia, CA, 91016 (Note: FR-3418); online www.stbaldricks.org/fundraisers/alrice