[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 189 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING LLOYD RICE'S SERVICE TO THE NATION AND HIS FAMILY

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                          HON. DEBBIE DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 19, 2024

  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Lloyd Rice, a 
resident of Michigan, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. His 
dedication to his family, community, and Nation is worthy of 
commendation.
  Lloyd was born in Green County, Indiana, and moved to Jackson, 
Michigan, at the age of 16. The following year, he was leaving a movie 
theatre when he heard the news that America had been attacked at Pearl 
Harbor. He graduated from Jackson High School in 1943 and received his 
draft notice in the mail the day of his graduation.
  Lloyd joined the Navy and became a diesel mechanic for a destroyer 
escort that patrolled the Atlantic for German submarines. Many of their 
missions included escorting ships carrying troops and supplies across 
the ocean, deterring the enemy submarines that prowled the area. These 
efforts were part of a continuous 18-month patrol in the Atlantic. 
After the deployment, Lloyd returned on leave to the United States, and 
then deployed on a ship headed for the Pacific when they received word 
that the Japanese had surrendered.
  After the war, Lloyd became a carpenter and played a major role in 
the post-war manufacturing boom of his community, taking part in the 
building of 15 schools and being the foreman on 3 of them. He married 
his first love, Dorothy, in 1947, and had two children. Sadly she 
succumbed to her battle with cancer in 1962. A couple years later, 
Lloyd met his last love, Evelyn, and they married in 1965, and had 2 
children. They were married 67 years until Evelyn passed in 2022. After 
recovering from heart surgery in his early 70s, Lloyd started working 
again at his local Home Depot for 19 years, before retiring again at 
the well-seasoned age of 96.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring the 
lifetime of service that Lloyd Rice has been so kind to share with us. 
After serving his country as a young man, he spent the rest of his life 
building schools, churches, and houses in order to make his communities 
more welcoming and prosperous for all. We thank him for his service and 
wish him the happiest birthdays. I thank Lloyd.

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